


Arahabaki Conquest.

by Ihamouden_78_7



Series: Bungou/Kaleid Liner Prisma Stray Dogs [1]
Category: Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA, bungou stray dogs
Genre: Boy x boy, Dazai and Chuuya are top and bottoming each other, F/F, F/M, Follows the Fifteen light novel, French kiss: Mana transfer, I’m bad at tagging, Kissing, Loooooonnnngggg chapters, M/M, Master Oda Sakunosuke, Odasaku is alivvvveeee 😭🥳, Slow Burn, pseudo-Servant| Higuchi Ichiyou: Alter Ego
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27174955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihamouden_78_7/pseuds/Ihamouden_78_7
Summary: “He came back. From the pits of Hell.”The ghost of the previous boss haunts the Port Mafia. At fifteen, Osamu Dazai, under the careful eye of Ōgai Mori, receives his first mission to investigate the matter. The investigation leads him to Chūya Nakahara, the infamous "King of the Sheep", a rival group of juveniles. With his own past unknown to him, and the lives of Sheep members on the line thanks to the Port Mafia, Chūya agrees to work alongside Dazai in order to unveil the truth behind the Port Mafia's former boss.However another threat has come with the rumor of Arahabaki being possibly summoned again through a human vessel, like many other victims who were brought through the pain of the world of Magecraft.
Relationships: Dazai Osamu & Oda Sakunosuke & Sakaguchi Ango (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dazai Osamu & Oda Sakunosuke (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Fukuzawa Yukichi/Mori Ougai (Bungou Stray Dogs), Higuchi Ichiyou & Higuchi’s little sister (Bungou Stray Dogs), Oda Sakunosuke & Higuchi Ichiyou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Oda Sakunosuke/Sakaguchi Ango (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Series: Bungou/Kaleid Liner Prisma Stray Dogs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983658
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. The King of Sheep

**Author's Note:**

> I had fucking fun making this. Also, I have so many ideas that I would rather write them down before I forget it.

A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs of populations in local communities, in contrast to larger hospitals which offer more specialised treatments and admit inpatients for overnight stays.

Most commonly, the English word clinic refers to a general practice, run by one or more general practitioners offering small therapeutic treatments, but it can also mean a specialist clinic. Some clinics retain the name "clinic" even while growing into institutions as large as major hospitals or becoming associated with a hospital or medical school.

Yet this clinic stood out from the rest, not only did it hold a high amount of mana but it’s been known for their reputations for their duo. A former assassin who is now working for the government and a doctor for the most dangerous mage association in history; the Port Mafia. The two had defeated many gangs who dared to attack the mafia, foolish enough to awaken the tyrant. 

“This is bad, this is really bad. The Port Mafia has lost a quarter of their storage, sooner or later we have to fight with kitchen knives,” a man complained, his pinkish purple eyes turned to the young fifteen year old behind him. “What should we do, Dazai-kun?” 

The bandaged, brown haired boy turned to him with his kaleidoscope. “Mori-san, you have to realize that without money, without respect and power of your subordinates it is obvious that your new position as Lord El-Melloi would be low.” 

“So mean,” Mori blinked. “By the way, Dazai-kun, why are you mixing the Amplifier Mystic Code and Dust of Osiris together?” 

“I thought if I put them together then it would be a more comfortable way to die,” Dazai answered, loosely adjusting his mystic code bandages. “So far it has only been an amplifier.” 

“I can’t let you die, you are my witness as I killed the last Lord.” 

Dazai knew that. Mori smiled at him, “after all, my position might give you the place for Master candidate.” 

Master is a designation given to an individual, usually a magus, who has become one of the formal participants of the Holy Grail War by obtaining Command Spells and forming a contract with a Servant.

With advanced manipulation of the system, it is possible to accomplish feats like having two Masters for one Servant. Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald takes control of the Command Spells, while his wife, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri provides energy. Either one is capable of holding or accepting new Command Spells to control the Servant.

It is not possible for a person who is not a Master to steal Command Spells to become a Master, but a Master creating a Book of the False Attendant can provisionally transfer it so long as the person retains the book.

Under ordinary circumstances, a Master is always a spellcaster, usually a Magus with a Magic Circuit, who is selected by the Grail. It is possible for an ordinary person to become a Master, as in the case of Souichirou Kuzuki, as well as untrained individuals such as Ryuunosuke Uryuu, though this is rare.

A Master that is providing magical energy to a Servant will "leak" magical energy in a volume that is easily detectable to most spellcasters. The leakage is distinctive, allowing a Magus to determine that the Master has a contract with a Servant.

An active Master will also possess a Command Spell as a visible proof of their contract.

A Master is always a Master, whether he currently has a Servant or not, as long as he still has the Command Spell. A Master without a Servant can make a pact with an unclaimed Servant at will, though having too many Servants is hazardous to the health of a Master due to magical energy consumption. This also means that a Master can claim a new Servant regardless of the length of time since his last Servant.

Under the Fuyuki-related systems, it is possible for a Master to contract with as many Servants as they wish, but even excellent magi cannot materialize more than one Servant at once. The result would just be splitting their potential power by the number of Servants. Kirei Kotomine, Caster, Sakura Matou, and Shirou Kotomine avoid that obstacle by using alternative energy sources to provide magical energy for a number of Servants at once. Under the Moon Cell system, all Servants have a direct connection to the ID of their Masters, so the system inherently prohibits Masters from possessing more than one contract.

“I’m not interested in a position like this, I have no such interest in the holy grail or anything related to that,” Dazai replied. “My only wish is to die without pain.” 

Mori smiled at him. “What I expect of the Dazai mage family. You are well known for your high magic circuit—going so far to be at the same level as the greatest magus in history, Natsume Sōseki-sensei. You should be honored, Dazai-kun.” 

“Not really, a position like that could be considered futile. After all, the Clock Tower hadn’t fully registered me in position as a magus.” 

“Careful, Dazai-kun,” Mori sighed. “You are the only one who was there when I inherited the title as Lord El-Meloi. You’re a testimony of his will. I don’t want you to die all willy-nilly.” 

It was only a year ago. After the rumored Dazai mage family lost all privilege and threw away their only heir, their last son got picked up by a normal mage doctor. Both elaborate a plan to kill the tyrannical Lord El-Melloi, which succeeded. 

“You made an error.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“It was smart of you to ask a suicidal patient to be your accomplice. Even after a year, I’m still alive. Thanks to you, the seeds of anxiety will not disappear.” 

For a moment, Mori felt like cold ice was pressed into his organs. 

“Mind to elaborate?” 

"I know. There's a certain anxiety, anxiety about whether the previous boss's assassination was leaked." Dazai's expression was still unreadable. It was as quiet as a freezing lake.

"What do you mean I made an error?" Mori raised his eyebrows as if to justify.

"There was nothing wrong with our plan. A year ago, I think you and I worked out a great strategy. I never want to do it again, though, because it was difficult."  
“  
The strategy has not been completed." Dazai said with cold eyes. "The strategy is not complete until the person involved in the assassination and forgery's mouth is sealed. Right?"

Emotions waved violently inside Mori."...You are..."

The boy's gaze quietly penetrated Mori. Like a medical device that looked through the human body.

"In that respect, I was a suitable accomplice, because no one would doubt it after you become the next leader in my testimony―even if I have committed suicide of unknown motives." The doctor and boy exchanged a silent gaze for a while. The Shinigami and the Devil seemed to glare at each other as the room filled with their spirit. In Mori's head, a word that he didn't know flickered many times and echoed like an alarm.

Miscalculation.

He made a miscalculation.

He missed the optimal solution.

This child should not have been chosen as an accomplice.The nightmarish thoughts Dazai sometimes showed through his observing eye was like an unprecedented, frozen eagle in the mafia's demonic nest.

"...What? It's fun to annoy authorities with troubling ideas. It's my recent entertainment." Dazai suddenly said with a silent, haunted look on his face. 

Mori quietly observed Dazai.

Immediately after everything seemed to be in sight, he smokes the surroundings with a suicide addiction that is unclear and unintelligible. Although Mori had never imagined it until he became leader, his speech reminded him of a certain person.

“I know someone like you." Mori said unintentionally.

"Who?" Without answering Dazai's question, Mori gave a small smile and lowered his head slightly.

"Don't tease your horns and make fun of adults. Have I sealed you up? I don't think so. If I was going to do that, I would have done it already. It's easier than breathing. How many times do you think I stopped your suicide this year? That's hard, you know. Have you done something similar to the hero of a movie and released a bomb under a chair?"

Dazai can't die.Why? There were still people deep inside the organization that said "the predecessor's death was a conspiracy," and those rumors would create unnecessary noise.

Already this year, two members had made an assassination plan for Mori. 

Of course, the traitor was executed, but you can't imagine how many supporters for the previous boss would not submit to Mori under the water.That's why Dazai cannot die.And over the past year, there was another reason why he should keep Dazai in hand and not let him die.

"Dazai-kun. If you want it that much, I can give you some medicine that will give you a comfortable death." Mori said, taking out a piece of paper from the desk drawer. He wrote the letters with a feather pen.

"Really?"

“But, I want to ask for a little research." Mori said while writing. 

"It's not a big job. There is no danger. But I can only ask you."

"Sounds sketchy." Dazai looked to Mori.

“Do you know about the mortar near the Yokohama settlements?" Mori ignored Dazai. 

"There are rumors that a certain person recently appeared in the vicinity. I want you to investigate the truth of the rumor. This is a delegation of authority called the Silver Oracle. If you show this, any mafia member will do anything you ask. Use it as you like."

Dazai looked at the paper then at Mori, and said. "Who is this person?"

“Take a guess." 

Dazai sighed. 

"I don't want to think."

"That's fine."

Dazai stared at Mori with dark eyes for a while and then opened his heavy mouth.

"...There's no doubt that the mafia’s highest authority is worried about the rumor of the city. It's an important rumor that can't be thrown away. And if it's a rumor bad enough to use the Silver Oracle, it's probably the rumors themselves, not the people spreading them. Rumors where the truth must be confirmed and the source must be crushed. Rumors that do harm just by spreading. And, if there is a reason to use me rather than an expert or an excellent subordinate, there can be only one person. What appeared was the previous lord?"

"Exactly." Mori was inwardly struck heavily.

"There are people in this world who must not get up from the grave. I confirmed his death with this hand, and it was ugly."

Mori touched his fingertips. The touch of that moment still remained on his fingertip. It felt like a huge tree was cut down. He's cut a lot of people at work so far, but there was no such heavy response from any previous surgery.The previous boss's throat was cut with a surgical blade and assassinated. The cause of his death was hidden. Complications caused convulsions and they needed to secure his airway, and his throat was incised.

A 14-year-old boy was there. It happened in front of Dazai's eyes.

"A human who must not get up from the grave..."

Dazai said, and after a moment of silence, he stood up with a sigh that seemed inevitable.

"I can't ask anyone other than you." 

That's why Dazai took away the piece of paper that had been presented.

"Medicine. You promise? No matter what?" Mori smiled.

“This is your first job. Welcome to the Mafia." 

Dazai got up and walked towards the exit. "Oh right, as I was saying... Who do you know who is like me?" 

Mori smiled a little. And he said with a vague sadness.

"Myself."

Mori thought. What he needed was an assistant. He was a secretary, a sword, and an excellent right arm. And above all, what you need to be a street doctor, a traitor, and a power snatcher is a trusted subordinate. A subordinate who does not need a secret. A subordinate who understands himself, who keeps waving alone at the top of the iceberg. A mistake called Dazai invited by Mori. But, errors are not always bad. He had picked him up as a disposable stone, but he turned out to be an oversized one.It may be a wish for him to take over this blood filled position. But, if it is Dazai, then―

"Dazai-kun," subconsciously, the question came out. “I don't know if I can understand it, but tell me. Why do you want to die?" 

Dazai looked back at Mori with a clear face, and said with the eyes of an innocent boy, "Tell me this. Do you really think that there is any value in the act of living?"

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

A small, light passenger plane flew in the clear, blue sky. There was a lone passenger; a man with black clothes and sunglasses. Sweat was flowing down his pale face. He looked around the airplane, devoid of anyone. He was curling up like a young child who was swaying in the night breeze, and was holding his hand around his weapon with both hands. The man was a mafioso.He was currently running away from a powerful organization. 

Suddenly, he heard a consistent knocking sound.The man jumped up and saw the sound. Outside the window.

Outside the window―There was a boy.

His age was about 14, 15 years old. 

He smiled on the plane from outside the window. It was impossible... he was in an airliner that was flying over 500 meters above the ground.

“Oh, am I disturbing you?" The boy outside the window said, moving his lips.

"Th. . . The King of the Sheep!" The mafioso screamed. Almost at the same time as the mafioso jumped away, the boy kicked and broke the window. 

A storm broke into the plane. 

The air was sucked out by the pressure difference, and the aircraft vibrated violently. But the mafioso didn't mind storms or vibrations. He was struggling to get away from the boy. The boy stepped on his back.

"The Port Mafia's luck has run out." The boy said with a pleasant voice. A boy with rare, dark hair like a lion stood in a deep green rider suit.The boy picked up a nearby chair with his bare hands. Then he threw the chair away. 

The chair stuck to the broken window and prevented the wind like a lid, causing the indoor storm to calm down.

“F...Forgive me!" The mafioso struggled under the boy's foot. 

"You guys... I apologize for ruining the sheep's territory! I had no choice!"

“Oh, I guess you had no choice. Every single one of you shitty Port Mafia bastards don't know a thing. The one who attacked us sheep always gets a hundred times retaliation. Don't worry, you won't be going to your friends in peace."

The mafioso tried to reach for the gun that fell on the floor. He couldn't lift a single finger from the floor. On the contrary, his face was distorted and his bones squeezed into the floor, so he could only whisper. The boy was only lightly on his feet. Gravity. Gravity on his body had been increased by several times.

"Nice. That's the Port Mafia for you." The boy said in a pleased voice. "Why don't you think of a counterattack while eating my gravity? ...Oh, but there is one thing. Answer me, why did you hit our territory?"

"I didn't want to... attack!" The mafioso was forced to squeeze the air from his deformed lungs. “It was unavoidable... because my storage armory was destroyed... by the god of disaster. It was revived from hell...the black flame of Arahabaki...!"

"Arahabaki?" 

The boy's smile disappeared. Gravity weakened for a moment.At that time, the mafioso rolled away from the boy, grabbed the gun that had fallen on the floor, and aimed at the boy. 

It was a fluid action that only those who were used to handling guns could do.The boy silently looked down at the mafioso with his hands in his pockets.

"Go ahead, shoot. Try it and see what happens."

“Die... King of the Sheep, Nakahara Chuuya!"The mafioso pulled the trigger.

The expressionless boy made a half turn with his hands in his pockets and kicked the bullet. Subsonic bullets collided with his toes. 

A bullet that bounced back at the same speed stuck into the mafia man's throat. 

The man bled and loudly fell on his back. The boy made a half turn and landed in his original location, then said, "Port Mafia, I'll kill you all."

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

“A Servant?” 

Back in the clinic Mori is adjusting the last arrangement of the mystic code. Behind him a man around his age with grey hair and green eyes is looking at him surprised, as if he had just seen a dead apostle awaken out of nowhere. He wears a black hakama (a pair of large, pleated, traditional trousers), a kimono underneath a longer haori and a small scarf with a circle pattern on it.

The man was a former bodyguard until he worked under the status of Natsume Sōseki, The GrandMaster, to protect the new Lord El-Melloi. Because of this neither are enemies or allies. Just an alliance which they do without lies and deceit. Neither of them are allowed to attack the other, not in a close mile radiance if they dared to use active spells that might cause severe brain damage. 

That’s why, for moments like these the two are sticking with each other against their own will. 

“Yes, thanks to Oda-kun we can determine that human experiments had been conducted on children, all ranging from young ages,” Mori explained, a grim look on his face. “One of them is from the yakuza.” 

“I heard that Kirino-san is there. Do you think she already knows of the problem?” 

“Don’t think so. Even though Kirino-san is a powerful magus with a lot of intel, her power to destroy everyone in the yakuza could be a problem. Not only that nobody knows what will happen if she becomes oyabun.” 

The man—Fukuzawa Yukichi—deadpanned at the man. “You mean like you and becoming boss?” 

“How rude! Mind you I have always taken care of your wounds, regardless!” Mori lightly smacked him like a little girl getting teased by a school bully. 

Fukuzawa took his hand, annoyed at the whole thing. “Whatever. I have a job in about an hour so might as well refill.” 

“You want a mystic code to help you?” Mori asked, caressing his chin. 

A Mystic Code (, localized as Formal Wear) is a support weapon that a magus carries as a magical artifact. Top tier Mystic Codes are said to have the equivalent power to a missile.There are different types of Mystic Codes.

Amplifier Mystic Code is the first type and functions as an amplifier for Magecraft. They are an orthodox Mystic Code for support, that can be used for magical energy amplification or storage, prepared to strengthen a spell.

The Specialised Mystic Code is the other type that have a predetermined usage. They are activated with the magus's magical energy and can perform a given mystery as long as it is supplied with energy. It becomes a spell in itself; many of the Noble Phantasms of Servants are usually of this type. Their usage is unique, so they aren't really generic, but this also means they can be tremendously efficient in what they do.

A Supreme Mystic Code is a Mystic Code of sufficient to be called symbolic of a family of similar level to one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower. Volumen Hydrargyrum is one such Mystic Code for the El-Melloi family.

There had been this once saying of the old clock towers: 

Supreme Mystic Code of the El-Melloi family.  
The term Supreme Mystic Code refers to a Mystic Code sufficient to be called symbolic of a family of similar level to one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower. In Volumen Hydrargyrum’s case, it was created by Lord Kayneth in his early twenties, a clear demonstration of the once-Lord’s exceptional talent.  
Ever changing in form, it is a Mystic Code capable of performing both offensively and defensively without showing any openings. Its true nature however is that of a remote processor.  
Upon inheriting it, Reines followed the advice of El-Melloi II and created a familiar out of it, endowing it with an elementary kind of artificial intelligence. It was the best advice for Reines who, rather than having the exceptional Magic Circuits of her predecessor, instead boasted a talent for precise control.  
By forcing it to remember Reines’ precise control, the artificial intelligence is able to imitate it perfectly. The newly christened Trimmau being capable of taking so many various forms is primarily a result of this advice she received.  
In addition, because of Trimmaus nature, it has also learned a great many things from Flat’s magical hacking. Though that has included a large amount of unnecessary wit and famous sayings, Reines has thus far turned a blind eye to it for the sake of the other merits it brings.

“Takes too long, knowing you and your ridiculous acting,” Fukuzawa complained, dragging the man away from his desk. 

“Then, Fukuzawa-dono shouldn’t be so impatient with it,” Mori argued back, completely letting the man take advantage of the situation. 

Fukuzawa, in his irritation, slammed the doctor into the wall. Mori winced before flinching again when the bodyguard puts his hands beside his head; a kabedon. 

While gaining mystic codes are really effective to supply mana, another method to get more mana is….

Both men did not notice a little girl with blonde hair red eyes walk in, when she noticed the noise they made, their moans and sluttery tongues hitting each other she—naturally—closed the door. 

“Higuchi-chan. Is something wrong?” A boy around nineteen years old. His blue eyes looked at her in confusion. 

“Nothing. Lord El-Melloi is busy. We should come another time, Oda-san.” 

The boy—Oda Sakunosuke, shrugged after he glanced at the door. Holding onto her tiny hand, the boy brought her out of the clinic, thinking that he should call later. 

Back in the clinic, Fukuzawa had just broken his kiss, a string of saliva connecting them. Mori looks a bit tired, cheeks turning a deep shade of red. The swordsmen looked at his partner and smirked to himself, “Still acting like a little girl, are we?” 

“Still into cute things?” Mori taunted, a smirk managing to form on his face. “I’m flattered that my little girl acting makes you want to go direct to me and use a mana transfer.” 

Fukuzawa sighed irritated before turning to him and teasingly whispers in his ear, “Only you could give me a satisfying mana transfer, Lord El-Melloi.” 

A shiver went down Mori’s spine, his face becoming redder. Fukuzawa turned away, chuckling to himself after closing the door. 

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

Suribachi City is literally a city with a mortar-shaped depression. There was a huge explosion here, with a diameter of 2 km that blew away both the indigenous people and the land rights. Later, only the bowl-shaped wilderness remained. In the wilderness, people had gathered and started to build a new town without permission. 

They were shaded people who had been kicked out of the surface society, or hadn't existed from the very beginning. They had lost the right to live and were in a legally tensioned position. With these two backgrounds, they built huts with their bare hands, with floors and electric wiring. Eventually, the hypocenter became a city where people who were betrayed by glory and jealousy lived. A gray city where gray people live. Of course, it was a land where the government did not reach. A land for illegal organizations like the Mafia.

Dazai was walking downhill of Suribachi City. "So, suicide by drinking a plating solution for painting is very popular in foreign countries, huh... I see." Dazai was reading a book while walking with a serious look on his face. He was hidden from the people's line of sight.

"What? The reason for its popularity is simply because it is an easy-to-use chemical for industrial painters, and it is by no means an easy suicide method. Those who drink it will die fearfully for hours and in an intense pain while it melts the internal organs... Wow, I'm glad I didn't try it. "

Dazai raised his face and spoke to the escort mafia walking behind him. "Hey, did you know about that? Be careful when you commit suicide! Um..."

"Hirotsu." The escort mafia responded with a face like a troubled small dog. "Um... I will refer to that."

He was an older gentleman, and his hair was black and white. He was a member of the Mafia who was nominated by Dazai because he was familiar with the upper land around this area, and was assigned the role of an escort guard without any further consent.Dazai was a fifteen year old child who was outside the mafia, yet he had the Silver Oracle. Moreover, Dazai was the only person who saw the last of the predecessor with Mori. Mori ordered such a person to investigate secretly― Something didn't add up. Dazai should not be trusted, or so Hirotsu's intuition was telling. Only those who have survived in this organization for many years would understand.

Hirotsu abided by Dazai this morning and let him take him. They followed information where the previous boss was witnessed, from the slums to sightseeing spots, and from there asked about the rumored lord from person to person. Although it was a strange investigation team of a child with a middle-aged person, Dazai's bizarre way of manipulating the other person's thoughts provided sighting information without them even realizing that they were talking about sightings. Even stubborn people changed their attitude as soon as they flickered a bundle of banknotes entrusted for the investigation from Mori.

Dazai heard what he needed from the people in the area and the two were on their way back to the Mafia headquarters.

"Um... Dazai-san. Don't go too far. Although I am an escort, this is a conflict area. I don't know what will happen."

"Conflict?"

Hirotsu told him. "There are currently three organizations that are hostile to the Mafia. Takasekai, Gerhart Security Services, and the third organization is struggling in this area. There is no official organization name, there is only a simple street name of 'Sheep'. This week alone, two mafia teams have been killed. The leader is very annoying and rumors are that bullets don't work against him."

"Huh... It's no wonder the sound of explosions and shootouts from the other side was lively. Well, not that I care..." Dazai said in an uninterested voice. At that time, an electronic sound rang from Dazai's pocket. A mobile phone.

"It's Mori." Dazai put the mobile phone to his ear. "Hello? Yeah, the interviews are complete. I learned a lot. Huh? How... I can do it. Yes, based on the interviews," Dazai said. "It's the old boss. He was revived from the pits of hell, wrapped in black flame."

He heard a rising voice in the phone call saying 'What?' "There were a lot of witnesses. I guess he wasn't done with this awful world." Dazai had a terrible smile. 

"I'll go back and report in detail―" The next moment, something hit Dazai's torso without any warning. Dazai flew horizontally, like a petal in a gust of wind. 

A wooden hut broke as he went through the tin roof. While crushing through a fence, Dazai rolled down to the bottom of Suribachi.

"The 'Sheep'!" The cry of Hirotsu sounded far away. "Dazai-san!"

He rolled down the hill, broke through the huts, rolled up dirt and building debris, and stopped before long. He was on top of the roof of a simple building with plaster walls. Something was on top of Dazai, the same thing that hit Dazai a while ago and blew him away―a black figure.

“Hahaha! This is good!" He cried out. "It's a kid! The Port Mafia must be really desperate for people." The person said. It was a small figure, a boy in a dark green rider suit, like a spear in the dark. His age was almost the same as Dazai's.

"It hurts." Dazai was laid down on his back and replied. "I don't like pain, you know.""

I'll give you a choice, kid," said the boy in the rider suit, with his hands in his pockets. "Will you die now, or spit out the information and then die? Choose the one you like."

"Two choices, good. I'm thrilled." Dazai's voice remained flat despite being attacked by the enemy and hitting the ground and buildings. "Then kill me now."

The figure was silent for a moment. Then he finally saw Dazai, and realized that he was dealing with a person that had personality. "Huh. I thought you were going to cry and run away, but you're a surprisingly radical kid."

“You're a kid, too."

“Sure, everyone who fights me says that at first, but they immediately notice their mistake. I'm not just a kid, unlike you." The boy in the rider suit put power into his legs. 

"Now, let's talk. You're investigating Arahabaki. Tell me everything you know." The boy stomped Dazai's fist that was full of wounds. Dazai's bones pressed against his shoe.

“...Ah. Arahabaki, huh. I see... Arahabaki." Dazai said, looking at his stepped fist like it was someone else's.

"You know?"

"Nope, never heard of it." Dazai said plainly.The boy laughed at him and quickly kicked up Dazai's body. His toes hit the bone, causing him to cry out. Dazai sounded like he was in pain.

“Okay, do you want to try the record? The longest is nine times. No one would be able to keep silent, even if I kicked them more than that."Dazai said, grimacing from the pain, "If I talk about the information... will you release me?"

"Oh, I'm kind to weak guys"

Dazai was silent, thinking a little. Then he looked at the boy and said with a serious face. "I understand... let's talk," Dazai continued in a heavy, tense voice.

"You should drink a little more milk. You're too short."The boy's kick pierced Dazai's torso. Dazai fell from the roof and rolled, crashing into the fence of another building.

“That kind of help isn't necessary, you dumb bastard!" The boy shouted. "I'm 15 years old, I'm still growing!"

"Fufu... I'll give you a curse. I'm also 15 years old, but I'll continue to grow and you won't grow much."

“There won't be an annoying curse!" The toe of the boy approached Dazai and kicked him in the face.

"It... hurts." Dazai said, laughing thinly. His mouth seemed to be cut, and a bit of blood flowed from the edge of his lips.

"But I remember now. 'Sheep' ... This is a mutual aid group that was built only by minors and created a great force in Yokohama. Boys and girls gathered to defend themselves against looting, fighting and raids. Its organizational strategy is thorough defense. But few people now fight the sheep. The reason is simple: anyone who invades the territory of the sheep will surely have a tremendous counterattack later, by a boy who is the leader of the Sheep. I see. Are you Chuuya Nakahara, the King of Gravity?"

"I'm not a king," said the boy called Nakahara Chuuya, with a hard voice. "I hold my own and I'm strong. I'm just doing my responsibility." 

Chuuya looked down at Dazai. "You, you know a lot about the inside of the Sheep."

“A long time ago, I was invited to join the Sheep. Of course, I refused."

"Good decision. If you were in the same organization as me, I would have killed you in 5 minutes."

“I would have assassinated you before that."

Chuuya glared at Dazai and Dazai looked back at Chuuya. Eventually, Chuuya got off of Dazai and stepped back several steps. "Well, your fate of being kicked and killed in five minutes doesn't change. Anyway, I'm sure I can pull whatever information I want from you. I'll send your head to the office of the mafia as a signal to declare war."

“You can't kill me." Dazai didn't relax and just quietly looked back at Chuya. "Can't you hear the footsteps?"

“Footsteps?"At that time, a roar was heard from all directions.

"Don't move!"A muzzle was aimed at Chuuya. Rifles, pistols, submachine guns, a shotgun, and more mechanical handguns. Countless mafiosi and countless firearms.

“Haha!" Chuya looked around. "Interesting. I'm more popular than I thought I was. I wasn't sure if anyone would come to help."

“Surrender, boy."

From the back of the mafia siege, Hirotsu appeared and said with a quiet voice, "At that young of age, you don't want to know the color of your organs."

"No matter how terrible it may be, I'm not scared, old man. Guns don't work on me. Everyone just gets knocked down and goes home." Hirotsu looked down at Chuuya with a quiet expression."How nostalgic... I was like you at some point, when I thought that I could blindly believe in power and be able to break the world with my dormitory alone."

He gave a small laugh. "Guns don't work? That ability is not so unusual. Now then... The warning time is over. Next is the time of regret. You should regret your own thoughts and ignorance in a pool of blood." 

Hirotsu took a big step and his shoes echoed around them. Those eyes were colder than a Shinigami's.

“You're an ability user, too?" Chuuya's eyes became sharp. "How nice, those eyes. They look different from the other guy's so far.... Come on." 

Chuuya got into a fighting stance with his hands still in his pocket.

"Hirotsu... It's better to stop." Dazai said, grimacing in pain. "This guy manipulates the gravity of the object he touches. Your abilities aren't compatible."

“Hm. Gravity?" Hirotsu said, taking off his white gloves. The gesture even had the elegance of nobility. "Alright, Sheep kid. I'll tell you my ability, to be fair. My ability generates strong repulsion on the things I touch with my palm."

“Saying your ability before coming here,” Chuuya grinned. “How fair.” 

“However,” Hirotsu continued, a cold look on his face. “I won’t fight you.” 

Chuuya raised his eyebrow before jumping to the side, just in time to dodge a giant spear from hitting him. 

“....what?!” Chuuya gasped, landing on the wall. He looked at the crater formed underneath the spear, his blue eyes noticing the little girl landing down. 

Her golden hair is loose with Chrysanthemums holding some parts up, her red eyes who look like shining rubies are looking straight at him as if the Shinigami and the devil weren’t terrifying enough. Her landing was graceful as her pink yukata with dark sakura petals made her look like a princess was it not for the tattoo that is looking thunder by her back. Next to her is a catfish, their eyes looking at the two with anger. In the girl’s hand is a katana; sharp and could easily cut him up if he could. 

“I have to apologize for us being late,” the nineteen year old man said, stepping out from a corner. “We just had lunch.” 

“Odasaku,” Dazai breathed, eyes wide seeing the girl. “Is she…?” 

Chuuya seemed to not be as patient, charging at the girl with two blocks of rubble. Throwing them at her, Chuuya raised his legs to give a roundhouse kick. 

The girl barely moved...but many knew she did move. Chuuya apparently as well, because he changed direction, fast enough to dodge the fast movement of the weapon cutting him into pieces like the two bundles of rubbles. 

Chuuya landed near Dazai, his eyes now looking at the little girl and how she held onto the handle like a professional swordswoman. “Who is she?” 

“Her name is Higuchi Ichiyou. She is a former yakuza member and also a victim of a deranged experiment that was conducted by her father, her family gave her to us with her little sister in case things get difficult,” Hirotsu answered, noticing how the girl flinched at some memories. “The boss had bought her as a slave but we luckily had saved her as anything but a pet, she is our vanguard.” 

Higuchi dashed forward to Chuuya, her arms angled to cut him into pieces. The fifteen year old however kicked the sword away. Surprisingly she pushed against his leg, not so much scratching him but did manage to cut a piece of pants. 

“Alter Ego!” Odasaku shouted, his left hand raised with three magic circles. Three black balls of prana appeared and shot them at the boy, Higuchi grabbing his shoulder and throwing him in front of her, grabbing his already raise leg and hooked her arm with his. 

Chuuya has a hard time knowing what happened before he was in front of three balls of dark void. They shot towards him like the speed of bullets, yet he couldn’t dodge it; the little girl had him hooked in a hold he couldn’t escape. 

In this moment he removed his right arm from his pocket, grabbed Higuchi by the hair and threw her in front of them. The girl let out a little cry but still stood her ground, the catfish biting Chuuya’s leg. The two are now on the ground; one whose arms are now paralyzed and one whose leg has been paralyzed. 

“Alter Ego, are you okay!” Odasaku shouted, wanting to run towards her but she was already standing. 

“I’m fine, Master, just heal me and I will be fine,” Higuchi coughed out some blood. Her eyes went to her catfish who changed into a six year old girl, her blonde hair pulled into a braid with two ahego’s. She crouched and grabbed the little girl, her sword raised weakly. “I will defeat him, Master.” 

Chuuya watched how the girl shivered in pain, eyes determined. He sighed, counting to ten before he changed direction towards the elder man, Hirotsu, and flew towards him. 

He rushed straight towards Dazai and the others. Chuuya rushed with the speed and weight of an empty shell. It was impossible to block it with only Hirotsu's right hand. Even if Dazai invalidated his ability, there was not much he could do against the speed of Chuuya, which was enough to break a human body.The next moment, a black flame blew everyone away horizontally.

"Gah?!"

A black shock wave struck from the side and swept everyone's body sideways. Not just the human bodies: buildings, utility poles, and even trees were blown away. It was as if the air itself bore its fangs of anger against humanity and wiped everything off the ground.It was a black explosion near the center of Suribachi City. Though, it wasn't just an explosion. A huge hot fireball swallowed the whole area. 

“Master!” Higuchi cries, grabbing Odasaku and the little girl and covered them both. 

Dazai, who was blown away like a dead leaf, saw it over a rotating field of view. A pair of eyes that shone red with death and violence that had been carved for decades and white hair. Even in the black flame, he stood like the lord of hell, wearing the flame like a cloak. That appearance—

"—The previous boss—" Dazai cried.

His cries were engulfed in flames—Dazai's consciousness disappeared into the dark.


	2. A Magical Secret Among Diamonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Welcome to the Port Mafia, Nakahara Chuuya.”

“Welcome to the Port Mafia, Nakahara Chuuya.” 

Mori spoke at the office desk on the top floor of the Mafia Building. It was a dim and spacious room with a shielded window controlled by electricity. The boss's office was one of the most difficult places to invade in Yokohama. In the middle, Chuuya happily stood facing Mori.

"I'm honored to have been invited by you."

Chuuya was detained. Both hands were handcuffed, both arms were tied up with leather restraints, and both legs were covered with large chains made to tow ships. Steel wires used for construction work were wrapped around his ankles and fixed to the metal fittings on the floor. His fist was covered with a steel cage so that it could never be opened again. In addition, countless red cubes appeared to surround the fuselage. It was an ability; a subspace constrained to bind Chuuya.

The ability's power was due to the gifted escort who stood next to Chuuya. However, even with such heavy restraints, the gifted escort was still nervous. He concentrated all his nerves to react immediately in case Chuuya showed even the slightest sense of rebellion. He was a skilled ability user in the mafia, but there was no room for error.

"I heard you put on quite the show yesterday." Mori smiled over the desk. "An all-round slaughter against our subordinates. As expected from the head of the Sheep."

"Not for long before someone got in my way. Unfortunately." Chuya smiled with a generous expression. 

"I'm sure you brought me here in regards to that, right? The black explosion from then—about the black flame of Arahabaki.”

At that time, the entrance door opened.

“Excuse me... Oh?"It was Dazai who showed his face.

"Hey, Dazai-kun. I've been waiting for you."

"Ah! The withered tree brat from that time!" Chuuya is trying to jump up. "How dare you show yourself!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm glad you're as full of energy as ever. I'm injured pretty badly over here, as you can see. Is your vitality the only thing that grows? Or is it thanks to your nutrition only going to your brain and not your height?"Dazai had a bandage around his head and his right arm was secured with a plaster band. He was injured during the battle with Chuuya and the explosion that followed.

"Don't talk about my height!"

"Ok, I understand... True, it was low of me to raise the physical defects of others. I won't say it again, so please forgive me, Chibikko-kun."

"You bastard!"

“Alright, that's enough." Mori clapped his hands. "You only met yesterday, and yet you're such good friends. Now then... Just like Chuuya-kun said, I'd like to talk about the black explosion. Can you release him, Randou-kun?"

A gifted escort called Randou—a man with long, wavy black hair and unhealthy eyes—had a gloomy face.

"You're the leader... But I don't recommend it. This boy is dangerous..."

“No worries. Dazai-kun's nullifying ability will come in handy, and you look colder than usual. Your complexion looks bad. Are you ok?"  
When asked, Randou shuddered. 

"I'm embarrassed to admit... that I'm going to freeze and die..."

"Cold?" Chuuya lifted his eyebrows and looked at Randou. "Dressed like that in this season?"

Randou was dressed in thick insulating fabric. He was wearing a brushed winter jacket, and a thick, muffler scarf around his neck. He wore ear warmers around his head, winter boots made of synthetic leather, and a dozen of heated hoodies were stuck to his whole body.Still, he was quite cold.

"Since I was invited to the office, I dressed quite lightly so I wouldn't be rude... Brr, it's so cold..."

"According to the results of the examination, Randou-kun is not physically sick and has no problems with his nervous system. He just really hates the cold."

"Brr... I want to work in a warm area... Boss, is there a branch of the Port Mafia near a crater..?"

"There aren't."

"Hmm... Then, sorry for bringing it up. Please excuse me." Randou lifted his ability. The countless cubic subspaces that bound Chuuya disappeared. 

Then, with light footsteps, Randou left the room. The three had, for whatever reason, watched him until he was out of sight. 

"He may not look like it, but he's a Port Mafia executive and an excellent ability user," Mori said quickly."No one can really say anything..." Chuuya muttered.

"Mori-san, why don't we get to business already?" Dazai said in exasperation.

"Ah—" Mori scratched his cheeks and lifted a quill pen off his desk. "—you're right." He looked at the ceiling, then at Dazai, then at Chuuya, then at his palm, and said, "Chuuya, are you willing to join the Mafia?"

The floor shattered with a roar. Radial cracks ran through the floor around Chuuya. 

"...Huh?" Chuuya's voice sounded like it arrived from the bottom of Hell. The reinforced flooring that could withstand shootouts was broken, and debris scattered through the room. Still, both Dazai and Mori remained expressionless without moving so much as an eyebrow. "Did you call me here to spout such shit?"

"Well, that's about the reaction I expected." Mori looked at Chuuya as if he had seen an unfavorable medical examination. "But in my view, our purpose and what you're following are somewhat consistent. Even after we evaluate what we can offer each other, I don't think it'll be too late."

Before Chuuya could even say anything the sound of a sword being unsheathed was heard. All three turned to the girl next to Chuuya whose weapon is pointed at his throat—near a very vulnerable place. Her red eyes are hollow and filled with resentment, a very dangerous person. 

Yet she is a little girl. Two years younger compared to him, she is almost near his hip. Even though she is small she is very dangerous. Even a child could sense the bloodlust that is popping out of her stance—like a swordsman who is ready to destroy their enemies. 

A female version of Miyamoto Mushashi manifested into a young child. 

“Put your sword down, Alter Ego,” the same man from back then ordered the girl—who Chuuya remembered as Higuchi Ichiyou. “He is our guest not our enemy.” 

“Odasaku..” Dazai breathed, eye looking at the little girl who lowered her weapon. “You are here.” 

“I apologize, boss. After Nats—I mean when the catfish got attacked Alter Ego could barely hold onto her Noble Phantasm. It just happens that the blast happened,” the man bowed down to Mori, the Alter Ego held onto her weapon. 

“It’s okay, Oda-kun. I’m sure that Chuuya-kun wouldn’t dare to attack Higuchi-chan. Also, how is Natsu-chan?” 

“She is alright sir. Hirotsu-san has a soft spot for her.” Oda turned to Higuchi who still glared at Chuuya from the corner of her eyes, anger coming out of her body like a meteor. “But….Higuchi-chan is now a bit heated with..um.” 

“Master, we shouldn’t let the king of sheep be here with no surveillance. His strength rivals that of a Berserker, was it not that he was human then I could have ripped his Spirit core.” 

“....Spirit core? Berserker? What the hell are you on about?” 

“Oh dear, it seems like we do have a special case. Higuchi-chan, please step aside so that we can discuss things more better,” Mori smiled at the girl, eyes closed to empathize with his excitement. 

Higuchi stepped away from the tiny crater created by his anger and stood dutifully next to Oda, not at all minding how Chuuya watched her like a hawk. 

"Haha, well that's surprising. The new boss of the Mafia is wasting his time." Chuuya laughed with his lips pulled sideways. It was a smile that seemed to sink into the opponent's flesh, he quickly forgot about Higuchi. "Me joining the mafia? What you mafia did to this city... don't say you forgot."

"The previous boss's rampage. That time had also caused me pain." Mori said with an unclear face.

The runaway of the previous boss—the violence and fear of Yokohama that has long been trapped under a bloody tyranny—is still a new tragedy in everyone's memory.

One day, all the redhead boys in the city were killed, just because one red-haired boy doodled on the boss's car.

One day, all residents in one housing complex died from poison being thrown into a water tank, just because hostile executives were a little more likely to be hidden in those apartments.

And one day, a mafioso who bad-mouthed the Port Mafia tried to give a touch of death to a whole neighborhood. To make matters worse, a medal of honor was given to those who betrayed the other bad-mothers.

For this reason, the entire city was covered with suspicion and darkness, just like a medieval witch trial, for years. 

In the city of betrayal, the number of trivial executions was no less than the Chiba people. There seemed to be many examples of killing for false charges.If they go against you, kill them. Even if they disagree with you, kill them all. A night tyrant and its death soldier. 

That was the synonym for the Port Mafia.

“But the previous boss also died of disease. I was there when he passed... If there were rumors that such a bloody rule has returned, we must find the truth about it. Wouldn't you be worried, otherwise, too?" Chuuya didn't answer immediately and struck Mori with a knife-like eye. He opened his mouth.

"But even if that's the case... It's not a reason for you to push me around, street doctor. There are a lot of bad rumors about you, too. The truth is, the previous boss wasn't sick and you killed him. Right? Who could believe that he said, in his final moments, that he'd give his position to a mere doctor? If that's not true, then prove it. Can you prove that you're not empowering that Shinigami through your need for power? Can you?"

The previous boss being killed by Mori was a secret in the organization. No one other than Dazai knows the truth. 

"I can't prove it. Why?" Mori said, shrugging his shoulders. Dazai quickly saw the change in Mori's expression and opened his mouth to stop him. But before he could, Mori said, "Because I did kill the previous boss."

The room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. For the first time since arriving there, Chuuya was at a loss for words.

"I cut the throat of the great predecessor with a surgical blade and disguised it as if he was sick and died. What of it?" Mori's voice was calm and his posture wasn't different from his previous facial expression. But the person standing there was like a completely different person. Even the undefeated Chuuya was overpowered under his freezing eyes. Behind the desk was a demon that devoured demons, a god of death that killed the reaper, an incarnation of wickedness that wandered aimlessly and showed signs of cruelty through vast amounts of deaths.

"Seriously...?" Chuuya said with a hard voice. "I'm amazed to hear what this timid street doctor can do... Compared to this, the previous boss was just a bad kid."

"I'm honored to be complimented." Mori gave a gentle smile, like the one he'd give to a patient. "Chuuya-kun, I will withdraw my previous statement of joining the Mafia. Instead, I would like to offer a joint investigation. The rumors we've heard about the previous boss's return and the 'Arahabaki' that you're after are clearly rooted in the same incident. I think we could achieve a mutually beneficial relationship simply by sharing information, don't you think?"

"....And if I refuse?"

"I'll kill you." Mori said with a natural tone, like the moment when sugar is put into coffee. "Though it's hard to kill you, even in the Mafia. So I'll kill all your companions in the 'Sheep'. How about it?"

Chuuya's restraints flew away. The metal restraints hit the walls and ceiling due to the physical strength of Chuuya's ability. "I'll kill you!" Chuuya jumped. He closed the distance between Mori in an instant and raised his right fist. Before his first could collide― it stopped. 

“Alter Ego..!” 

Higuchi once again stood in front of the boss, holding Chuuya in a death grip. Her eyes are filled with bloodlust, not even stopping as Odasaku had called out for him. Chuuya could have easily kicked her away but that was not the only problem he faced—. In front of a smiling Mori, there was a black communications device that he had raised in advance.

"It was really easy. Even though they were armed with guns, their skills were really poor." Mori shrugged. "The 'Sheep'... A counterattack organization with territory in a prime location in Yokohama. But the other members are ordinary children with guns." Chuuya's fists trembled harder, but he remained stationary in his spot and didn't move. He couldn't move. "As a fellow leader, I feel for you, Chuuya-kun. The 'Sheep', a mighty armed organization, was actually just a king with absolute strength and a herd of herbivores that depended on him. I think there are more things I can advise you about running an organization."

"... You bastard..." Chuuya clenched his teeth.

"What's wrong? What's that fist for? Good exercise for your health?" Mori showed a cool face and looked at Chuuya's raised fist. 

Some time passed, and eventually, Chuuya slowly lowered his fist. Higuchi also let go, somewhat relieving Chuuya who had a hard time trying to get angry at her. 

"And there you have it, Dazai-kun." Mori smiled. "The wielder of the greatest violence in this room is Chuuya-kun. But for the Mafia, violence is just one tool at our disposal. The essence of the Mafia is to control rational action by a plethora of means. In this case, the rational action is to adjust the disadvantages caused by the hostile force into our profit. That's one of the rules of the Mafia."

"I see. But why did you teach me such a lesson?"

"Why indeed." Mori watched Dazai with an ambiguous smile. 

Chuuya listened to the conversation between the two with an expression of a beast that breaks and eats the meat. However, he did not take action, and opened his mouth instead.

"That was done so that the disadvantages exceed the profit." Chuuya glared at Mori. "We can exchange information. For the good of my profit―but you speak first. I will decide after hearing that."

“Of course. But first if we are going to expose the secrets of others let’s expose ours, after all we can’t be allies without being trustworthy of each other,” Mori smiled as he held up a deck of cards in front of Chuuya, each one having a strange figure on them. “Chuuya-kun, have you ever heard of the Holy Grail War?” 

“The what?” 

“The Holy Grail War is a competition that decides the ownership of the Holy Grail through intense battle royale. While there have been many conflicts over supposed Holy Grails in the past, this term refers to those specifically based around Masters, usually proficient magi, summoning Servants, Heroic Spirits brought forth as familiars, and meeting in battle until only one pair is left to claim the Holy Grail.

Servants are spirits made into special familiars of the highest rank, referred to as Ghost Liners by the Mage's Association, that are bound to the Master. Typically Heroic Spirits under most systems, they can also sometimes be Divine Spirits, Phantoms, Wraiths, and living people depending on various circumstances. Pure Heroic Spirits, the "main body" in the Throne of Heroes, can only be summoned by the World, and summoning even one is considered to be a miraculous occurrence. Differing from the normal definition of familiars that can be likened to minor mascots unable to be stronger than their masters, Heroic Spirits are the most powerful of beings with which even the five magicians would never be able to forge a contract with. Rather than it being a hard process to summon them or the fact that they far surpass magi, it is their intrinsic nature in that they are beings beyond magecraft. Magi can perform rituals to borrow their power to mimic them, but cannot summon actual Heroic Spirits themselves.

Even the Holy Grail lacks the power to summon a true Heroic Spirit, so the process is facilitated by summoning them into one of seven vessels prepared beforehand. The Greater Grail makes a copy using information from the "main body" of the Heroic Spirit, an "emanation", that returns to them as information, in the form of a soul, upon the death of the Servant. Disconnected from the "main body", they are able to know of the actions of the Servant through records, as if reading a book.

Similarly as to how daemons require a form invented by humans in order to take shape, Heroic Spirits need a form to exist in the world. The vessels, classes, act as their temporary name and method of existing. Acting like a "passport to the present", the vessel prepares them for their role as a familiar in advance, allows them to take on that role to help them take form, and brings them forth into the world. Each class identifies only the core skills of the Heroic Spirit because replication of all their abilities is impossible. Their main traits align with the class and are given form, matching the principal nature of the class. Only heroes matching the attributes of the classes are brought forth, allowing them to be summoned into any reflecting their abilities.

Although too powerful to be controlled by humans, they are bound by three Command Spells, representing the Masters' "right to rule" over them, with obedience towards the Command Spells being the "absolute condition required for materialization." Due to the prospect of having a wish granted by the Holy Grail, it also serves as an incentive to cooperate with the Master, as well as requiring them for energy upkeep and acting as their anchor to the world. Killing them will normally go against their purpose, but the Command Spells protect the Master from those who would kill them to seek out one who would be more suitable.”

Dazai had to admit that he should applaud him for saying that all in one breath. Chuuya looked even more confused, surprisingly not getting anything next to each other. 

“A battle royale to get a wish, basically,” Oda comments, Chuuya mentally thanking him for the shorter and simpler explanation. 

“Each Servant is put into a class; Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker. There are Extra classes like Rulers, Avengers, Moon Cancer’s and—like Higuchi-chan—Alter Ego. Each class has their own specific range of skills, sets and such. For example Miyamoto Musashi is in the Saber category while heroic spirits like Ushiwakamaru are in the Rider.” 

Chuuya watched how Higuchi removes her Kimono to show off a red tattoo. “To give each other good information let’s begin with how we met Higuchi-chan.” 

Oda decided to step up and show his command seals—a red tattoo which looked almost like a scar. 

“Higuchi-chan has been given the origins of a deity and been put into the Alter Ego class. That is class mostly goes into the category of an existence taken out of or separated from a certain Spirit Origin and altered. The origins of that deity—Takemikazuchi—were roughly altered. As such, it’s history changed as well. A deity like that had been that changed that even Higuchi became an existence with her soul almost ripped out and renewed.” 

Chuuya in all of this glanced at the girl. She held a strong face, not at all reacting to how Mori described the experiment. 

“What about that little girl?” Chuuya asked, his hands holding onto his pockets. “She was a catfish and all of a sudden she became human.” 

“Ah, she is a Phantasmal beast that happened to have been there. As I said that the history of Takemikazuchi changed so did the origins—the catfish that Takemikazuchi had subdued has been transferred to her little sister,” Mori has a grim expression. “She can control half. Not fully like her sister but she is the catalyst to Higuchi’s Noble Phantasm.” 

“Wha…?!” Chuuya gasped, turning to Oda for confirmation who only nodded. “You're not making a joke right?” 

“Not at all. She is a special case of a Servant half-breed and a Phantasmal species. Quite interesting, right?” Mori raised a dragon tooth up and continued his explanation. 

“They are those existences that deviate from their original form by the impact of factors alien to their ecology, those existences born from the thoughts of humans and those existences that ascend to a higher order as a consequence of longevity. Then, if it is believed that the subject of a Mystery "exists," the World permits its existence and definite affirmation of said belief is not required. There are also existences desired by the world, but not by humans, and because of this they have gradually gone into hiding and dwindled in numbers. 

Rather than a classification for a separate ranking for beasts, it encompasses everything from demi-humans, such as fairies and giants, to monsters, such as dragons and oni. They differ from Daemons, as they are active creatures rather than passive existences. Similarly to how magi gain power through the accumulation of knowledge, those of the Phantasmal Species become stronger through the accumulation of time. Modern Magecraft is the sum of five hundred years of study, whereas the Phantasmal Species date back to the Age of Gods.

Magi that only have a mystical lineage that spans five hundred years cannot hope to match or reproduce mysteries that have accumulated thousands of years and have an existence that is on par with the five modern Magics. They embody mysteries simply by existing and it is said to be a miracle if one is simply observed.” 

Chuuya once again glanced to Higuchi who remained on guard, her eyes simply not giving in to his power. 

Mori clapped his hands. “This is as far as we go. Your turn now, Chuuya-kun. First, we are investigating rumors that the dead boss has appeared. According to Dazai-kun's investigation, three times in the last month the appearance of the previous boss has been witnessed in the vicinity of Suribachi City. The fourth time—he appeared in front of you and blew you away with a black flame. It's quite a destined story. Do you know anything about it?" Mori looked at Chuuya. 

After crushing Mori under his sharp gaze, Chuuya said, "The dead cannot be revived."

"I think so too. If they could, all the doctors would be unemployed. But... I can't say that anymore. Look at this." Mori opened the office desk drawer with a key and took out a video terminal about the size of a palm from the inside. 

He put it on the desk and turned it on. Video feed was projected on the terminal. It was indoor footage from somewhere. The position of the video looked down from the ceiling, and a huge amount of bundled bills were stacked on the floor and against the wall.

"This is a video of a vault in the Port Mafia headquarters building, where half of the Port Mafia's hidden assets are kept. This is one of the most difficult places to enter, along with the boss's office—I want you to look ahead." 

Mori pointed.A figure moved slowly between the bills. Dazai took a breath when he saw the figure. "... No way."

The shadow looked at the monitoring device. It was an old man who wore a black dress and floated in the air. A night tyrant with flames in his eyes. The old man—the previous boss, opened his mouth to the surveillance device as if he saw the reaction of Dazai and the others watching the video.

"I've been revived." The voice was low and strangely broken. Despite the sound from the terminal, the room temperature seemed to drop a little. "From the fire of hell. Do you know why, doctor?"

The previous boss on the screen was swaying a little and the figure was not constant. The outline swung like a flame.

"For anger. A wrath of regret. He feeds on anger. He brought me back from the world of hell with the intention to spread more anger. The beast of the God's with a mighty power, Arahabaki of the black flames—he is the anger of this world. As he wishes, I will perform revenge here and sway further anger. To the one who killed me—from today on, you will tremble in your sleep."

Immediately after he said that, a huge flame erupted from the body of the previous boss. The bills burned up in an instant, the wall material melted, and the video feed went black.The monitoring device stopped. Even after the screen dimmed, no one could say a word.

"That's all the content left in the surveillance footage." Mori said, turning off the video terminal. "For now, only the security officer, one executive, and myself know of this video. I've forbidden anyone from saying it outside, but that could be useless. There's no guarantee that the previous boss won't give the same speech elsewhere."

Dazai gave Mori a hard expression. "What if I gave this speech elsewhere?"

"You can make a prediction. In the video he says his cause of death was not sickness, but assassination. If that information is known to the previous boss's supporters, as a worse case, 30% of the organization will turn to my enemies." Dazai kept silent and stared at the black screen with a thoughtful expression.

"Chuuya-kun. You first asked Dazai-kun what he knew about Arahabaki. What is Arahabaki?"

Chuuya glanced at Mori, but didn't say anything."I also looked around a little bit. Arahabaki is a traditional genus of a god. An old god before Japanese mythology. But, since it's so old, it's identity isn't clear. I really don't know what characters to write. That's why there is a unique tradition depending on the land, and various types of "Arahabaki gods" that are spoken."

"Do you believe in the existence of a thing like god?" Chuuya said, as if he was talking to a fool.

"No. I only believe in what I saw. And as you have seen, the person in the video was the previous boss. That fact cannot be changed." Mori shook his head. "It's no coincidence that you were investigating Arahabaki. You probably heard the same rumors that we did and were chasing the truth."

“Before I give that….what type of theory do you have why the boss survived?” 

“A dead apostle.” Dazai decides to cut in, eye on Oda who only shuddered. “They are humans that became vampires either by the use of Magecraft (like Nrvnqsr Chaos, though this kind is rare) or by the actions of another vampire of similar nature (in this case, either a True Ancestor or another Dead Apostle). Among the creatures that fall under the vampire category, they are the most numerous. The main targets of the Executors of the Burial Agency, an organization created for the purpose of stopping the spreading of the heresy known as vampires by exterminating the Dead Apostles and sealing The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.” 

“The original members of this kind of vampire were created to act as countermeasures in the case of a True Ancestor being overwhelmed by his or her thirst for blood. In exchange for losing their free will and becoming a tool to relieve the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors as emergency meals, these individuals were granted powers and longevity similar to their masters. However, what they received was still a flawed form of immortality and it was soon discovered that they needed to suck the blood of others to survive. Just like the True Ancestors, these vampires have the instinct known as Vampiric Impulses which pushes them to suck the blood of others. But differently than the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, they have the physical need to suck the blood of others in order to maintain their own bodies. For those Dead Apostles who used to be human, it is something not entirely dissimilar from an expression of love.

The result of repeatedly sucking the blood of humans was the emergence of a sense of superiority in the heart of the servants of the True Ancestors. Such a thing eventually gave birth to a feeling of rebellion towards their masters, which then lead the servants to find ways of strengthening their mental control and escaping from the domain of the True Ancestors. After the rebellion, these blood-sucking humans became known as the Dead Apostles.

Although the Dead Apostles are maverick and individualistic by nature, there is a form of ruling body among them: The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. At first a group formed only by the original Dead Apostles who escaped from the True Ancestors, today however it is more of a collection of very odd, but powerful bloodsucking characters who are divided into multiple rival factions. Most of the original Dead Apostles were destroyed along the generations or sealed away by the Church. Afterward, their seats among the 27 Ancestors were either left empty or filled by somewhat suitable replacements. On a side note, those sealed away are actually just placed into eternal imprisonment inside special coffins, for the Church lacks the means to definitely destroy them. Meanwhile, some of the factions of those sealed Ancestors still remain and are slowly gaining power to either free their masters or destroy them. There are two primary factions that divide the Apostles, there are those who follow the former King of the Dead Apostles, Trhvmn Ortenrosse, and those who follow the Princess of the Dead Apostles, Altrouge Brunestud.” 

Chuuya turned to Oda for a more simpler version. “A bunch of vampires who are no longer here and are almost like zombies.” 

The fifteen year old paused at the words.Chuuya looked around the room and hesitated, but eventually opened his mouth. "I don't know if this is true. It's a land with a lot of travelers, so I can't find the source of the rumor. But... Have you heard how Suribachi City was made?"

"Suribachi City?" Mori lifted his eyebrows at the unexpected question. "That would be the city with the hypocenter. At the end of the war, an unexplained great explosion occurred, and everything on the ground was blown away. It's a city that was built on ruins—"

"The cause of the explosion was Arahabaki." Chuuya grimaced. "There are a lot of rumors in the 'Sheep'... According to the rumors, an overseas soldier who was taken prisoner eight years ago was tortured at a secret military facility near the hypocenter. The torturer messed up and killed him. But the dead soldier woke up Arahabaki with anger and resentment, and was revived with a black flame... By the way, the only thing in Hell that can wake up Arahabaki are the people who killed people in his life, the countless souls of the dead, or those who died with great anger... The soldier who was revived blew away the hated enemy soldiers, the soldiers of this country, together with the facilities. The explosion was the result."

"That's why it's called Suribachi City." Mori said in fascination."Yeah. However, the power of Arahabaki was too much for one person. Before long, it blew away both reason and personality, became an uncontrollable monster, burned up his body with the ground and evaporated."

“Now it's the return of an angry god. What do you think, Dazai-kun?"

"What do I think? Nothing." Dazai shrugged. "There's no reason behind it. A grudge, the souls of the dead, it's too much of a lie. It's a horror story somebody came up with."

Mori opened his mouth with a cautious look. "But... the previous boss also killed many people before his death, and died with a great amount of anger. The conditions have been met. Not to mention, the fact that the previous boss gave the name 'Arahabaki' in the vault is hard to deny. It's impossible for a normal person to break into the highest security vault."

"Then the answer is obvious. It's Magecraft fused with an ability. The video was made by an ability user we don't know. And then, with the rumors of Arahabaki, disguised the previous boss's resurrection."

“What for?"

"It's been decided. Let everyone believe that Mori-san assassinated the previous boss—to crush the Mafia."

“Good grief." Mori shook his head with a tired face. "That's why it takes two people to kill a person. Dazai-kun, I'm putting you in command. Find the culprit before they give the same speech on the video about the previous boss. Sound good?”

"Well... If anyone finds out about the previous boss, I'll be tortured too, as Mori-san's accomplice, so I'll do it." Dazai said with a dissatisfied face.

"I don't have much time, and I don't think I can do it alone.""Alone? You won't be alone." Mori grinned laughingly. "Please have Chuuya-kun over there help you."

“Huh?!" The two shouted at the same time.

“What are you talking about?"

"No way, why should I go with this guy?"

"Who jokes about such things?"

“I'd much rather go by myself than with him."

"What did you say!"

"Both of you stop shouting." Mori said, looking at them at the same time. "Chuuya-kun. I trust you understand that you're not in a position to refuse orders?"

"How dirty."

"I don't care, you octopus!"

"Mori-san's the one doing that!"

"Don't fuck around!"

"Yeah, yeah." 

Mori handed Oda his report about the case of Arahabaki. “Find out what Arahabaki and the dead apostle have in common.” 

Even as they screamed at the same time, Mori simply smiled and didn't do anything. "There are several reasons for pairing you two. First, it's a rumor that is hostile against the Mafia, so it's easier for non-mafia people to hear. Although it's necessary to monitor Chuuya-kun so he doesn't betray the investigation, Dazai-kun's disabling ability is compatible with yours. And finally, the most important reason is..." 

Dazai and Chuuya got together and waited for the rest of what Mori was going to say. However, after rolling the words around in his mouth a bit, he smiled and said, "It's a secret."

"What the hell!"

"Well, think of it as an adult intuition." Mori had a mysterious smile. "Both of you can't do this unless you get along. This is an order. If I hear of a report that the mission was neglected because of a misunderstanding... Do you understand?" 

Mori smiled slowly and looked at them. An invisible cold spread around. "Your reply?"

Silence.

“Your reply?"

"...Okay." Came the bitter reply from the two boys.

"Ok, then go. I'm hoping for a good report." Mori quietly watched Dazai and Chuuya walk away, hindering each other's path. Eventually the door closed and Mori was left alone in the room. The tranquility of the sea after a storm passed over the room. Mori stood alone, staring at the door."Is it only possible for a diamond to polish a diamond?" Mori smiled, looking back at his memory. "Natsume-sensei, the words Fukuzawa and I told you, I will confirm it this time."

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

A pale sky spread over Yokohama. It was a pleasant sky that made everyone want to take a deep breath while looking up. But, some people who saw that sky had different opinions. It's too pale, or it's too transparent. With this, when the flame of destruction burned on the ground, the black smoke would be engraved vividly in the sky. And that black smoke was about to rise.

Dazai and Chuuya began to reluctantly investigate, to find and extinguish the fire that would cause black smoke. There wasn't much time left. They were walking along an alley under a quiet, sunny sky with grumpy faces, no words, and a distance of about 5 meters between them. Dazai in front, with Chuuya behind him. 

No one would think they were walking together because of their distance.

"...Hey." Chuuya said in a small voice. Dazai walked forward without a reply. He didn't look back.

"Hey!" Chuuya called out again. "Tell me where we're going."

“Wow, the weather is nice. It's almost as if I can hear a fairy because the weather is so nice."

"Don't play around. It's my voice." Dazai looked back."Oh, you were there? Sorry, but would you mind not talking to me? I'm too busy breathing right now."

"I'll rip your throat out, bandage freak. Why don't you tell me where we're going?"

"I got it, I'll answer. If I answer, though, will you stay away from me? I can't think when I'm walking with you."

"Don't worry. I also can't think when I'm around you."

"Fufu, we're compatible. It must be because I love you!"

“Ugh, stop it! That's so sick I could die!"

“...Yeah, I think I'd also feel sick and die." Dazai moaned with a look of regret and said, without looking at Chuuya, "What was it? Oh, right, the place we're heading to now. The next thing we are going to investigate is the person who heard and witnessed the most recent explosion."

"Asking around? How bothersome... What will the enemy do?"

"It won't be." 

Dazai saw Chuuya's disgusted face. "First of all, what caused the explosion? Looking into it, it's the sighting of the previous boss." Dazai looked at Chuuya's face for a while, then opened his mouth. "It's not the rumors about the previous boss, it's the rumors about Arahabaki's body. If the revived boss is disguised as an ability user, then the ability user will be playing the role of Arahabaki. It is inevitable that the criminal impersonator will breathe, eat, and live. I'm going to chase him."

Chuuya frowned. "But... if the rumors about Arahabaki are true, my Sheep friends will be investigating."

Dazai laughed at him. "No matter how much the Sheep love rumors, there are some people who can't listen." He turned back to the front and said again while walking, "A week ago, the same explosion we experienced happened. The place was the same, Suribachi City. I was late to notice because the appearance of the previous boss himself was not witnessed, but it's the same incident we are following. So, we are going to talk to the survivor of that explosion."

“Does it have something to do with all that Magecraft bullshit?” Chuuya asked, his stomach feeling rather iffy of this all. 

Dazai shakes his head. “Magecraft and Abilities are almost the same. The only difference is that Abilities have minor limitations compared to Magecraft who holds a great amount of potential for the route.” 

Chuuya raised his eyebrow. The thought of just figuring out that this was right under his nose only made him feel like someone who has no potential.Going back to their conversation is for the best. 

"The survivor... there were casualties?"

"Ah, a group of Mafia. The one who survived is an ability user, and you've already met him. His home's up ahead, I promised to listen there—" When Dazai pointed at the end of the alley, a roar rang from that direction to respond.

"Hah?!" Chuuya was surprised when he saw the cause of the roar.

"...Ah—" Dazai looked troubled. "Now, it's the sound of an explosion." Black smoke rose from the place that had exploded. Gunshots were faintly heard."Hey, hey. Weren't you going to talk over there?"

"Hey, hey. Weren't you going to talk over there?"

"I wonder if the criminal has gone ahead."

"Oh, that's not good. That looks dangerously crucial."

Dazai looked at Chuuya. Against Dazai's expectations, Chuuya's expression was shining.

"In other words, this is the place? Isn't this a change from listening to trouble to dealing with a criminal who came to seal him up?"

"Huh...?"

“Isn't this great? Let's hurry up and go!" After he was done talking, Dazai watched Chuuya sprint away like the wind, with no expression on his face. 

"...What a child..."

About half of the mansion was blown away. It was a Western-styled mansion with ivy wrapped around it. Half of the right side of the mansion was a well-maintained antique house, while half of the left side was a pile of black rubble. The rubble had smoldering embers that raised gray smoke. Because the mansion was in the back of a planted forest away from the residential area, there were no injuries or spectators. Instead, there were seven or eight people with guns. They were holding rifles at the mansion, and occasionally a dry gunshot sounded.

"It's starting." Dazai said while hiding behind the trees in the forest. "A flashy explosion mark. If I was in the middle of that explosion, I wonder if I would have died without suffering..."

"Yeah yeah, I'll kill you later, so concentrate on work right now." 

Chuuya looked at Dazai with disgust in his eyes and turned his line of sight back to the mansion. "It's a raid from an armed organization. Eight enemies are outside. I don't know if there are any more inside."

Immediately after Chuuya said that, the walls of the building blew away with a shattering noise. An armed man from the inside broke through the plastered wall on the second floor. He seemed to have been blown away by someone.

"Ah... Well, that level of armament against Randou-san's ability wouldn't do anything." Dazai said with a tedious voice.

"Randou?"

"The Mafia's ability user we were going to hear from. The guy with the ability that restrained you in the boss's office. The cold one."

“Him? Is he also a magus?” 

“Not that I know off.” 

At that time, a gun being raised sounded behind them.

"Let me tell you." It was a man's voice. It was a gentle voice, like a death's kiss. "Raise both of your hands and turn around."

Dazai and Chuuya looked at each other for a moment before raising their hands and turning around. Standing behind them was a man in a dark gray field uniform. He was a massive man, like a big tree. He pointed a handgun at Dazai.

"What, it's just a kid?" The man holding the handgun said with a surprised voice. "Is this really a reinforcement unit? Is the mafia short on manpower, or is that Randou just really popular?"

"I-, I'm-, I'm so sorry! We're just... kids from the neighborhood!" Dazai trembled and shouted in fear. "We were on the way to Randou's house for a delivery, but..."

"Hey, old man." Chuuya interrupted Dazai's remarks with a pleased voice. "Let's save each other time. You shoot one shot at me. Then, I will blow you into the next town as my counterattack. Next, I'll blow away the remaining attackers. That attack is open. How about it?"

"What the hell?" He aimed the gun at Chuuya.

"... Ahh, enough." Dazai stopped trembling and shook his head while covering his face. "Even though I went through the great trouble of acting to trick him into giving us information..."

"What's wrong? You don't shoot kids?" Chuuya got as close to the handgun as he could and looked up at the muzzle. "But if you live in this world, then you know that you shouldn't judge an enemy solely on appearances. Based on your equipment, you're the GSS tactics team, right?"

The man pulled a face.

GSS, that is, Gerhard Security Service, is one of the illegal organizations that is against the mafia. It was originally a genuine private security company with an overseas capital, but it was made illegal after receiving aid from their home country, and now they're involved not only in ensuring security, but also in creating danger. Generally speaking, they're 'pirates'. They make contracts with corporations and attack cargo ships. However, security companies that have not allied with GSS are not attacked. Something about their bad reputation immediately gives customer acquisitions publicity, therefore killing two birds with one stone for their business partners. And with how many times the Port Mafia's goods sunk, the two organizations were now in a very brutal relationship. Because their training instructor is a true soldier, the members' combat skills are high, and the mafia was struggling.

"Look out, I shoot quickly!" Chuuya laughed and pushed his forehead against the muzzle.

The man put his finger on the trigger to shoot, but he couldn't. The muzzle slowly descended."What... the gun, it's heavy..."

"Don't get tired over this heavy weight. Are you a boy?" Chuuya gently touched the gun. 

With that, the lightweight handgun became unusually heavy and fell on the man's hand as if it had been turned into a huge iron block.When Chuuya lightly touched the handgun, the handgun suddenly fell sideways on the man's chest. With the weight of a cannon, the pistol digs into the man's bulletproof vest.

His ribs creaked on impact.

The man screamed.The handgun fell by the man's foot with a light noise after pinning down his chest. The weight from before disappeared when Chuuya moved his hand away.

"A child who manipulates the others' gravity... The Sheep's, Nakahara Chuuya...?" The man whispered while holding his chest. "Then the rumor that you fell to the mafia is true!"

The man released his fist with an angry voice. He rotated his lower back to close the distance between them and thrust it into Chuuya.

"...Huh?"A black whirlwind struck into the man's chin faster than the soldier could hit Chuuya. Chuuya's gleam dug into him like a hammer. Chuuya jumped up and hit him directly with a backwards, high-speed kick."No one fell under the Mafia's umbrella. Don't make me angry with such a misunderstanding, idiot."

The man fell on his back. He had concussed and fainted. He won't be waking up.

"Oh, well done." A dry applause rose. "It's much quicker to kick the enemy in a freestyle rotation instead of in a straight line."

Chuuya's ability maneuvers gravity. That operation covers not only the touched object, but also Chuuya's own body. Decrease your gravity and lighten yourself while attacking at high speed, then return to normal only at the moment you make an impact. By doing so, kicks released at the speed of a feather are pierced by the heavy weight of an iron ball.

"You were only watching, you useless bandaged bastard."

"Unlike you elementary school students who are proud of their violence, I was taking information from the enemy communications."

Dazai had an enemy communications device in his ear. It was taken from the man's pocket.

"According to the communicator, when they heard the scream of the person you just blew up, the remaining people rushed out to support him."At the same time as Dazai finished, about ten figures appeared. Figures with a gun. They spread out to half enclose Dazai and Chuuya, and pointed their rifles at them.

"Hey, bandaged bastard. I'll kill them, so play some battle music. He's a hard-rock kind of guy."

"Don't be stupid." Dazai had cold eyes."The captain has been killed! Our target is the gravity manipulator! Open fire!"

Gunfire raises all at once. Chuuya kicked the ground and became a black afterimage.

And it became a battle. 

―If an attack from one side has no effect and unilateral violence that is kicked flying can be called a battle.

The 7.92mm bullet released from the rifle hit Chuuya, but didn't pierce through him and instead bounced back as if a piece of wood had hit it. The weight was lost at the same time as it hit him. Chuuya sprinted low, like a carnivorous animal, without losing momentum. And, he hit one of the enemies.

The enemy was blown up as if he was in the middle of an explosion. Landing sideways on the torso, Chuuya jumped back in the opposite direction. Moreover, the gun close to the enemy's hand was released and the barrel was broken. Chuuya, who's weight was lost, jumped again using the barrel as a foothold. 

He floated high in the sky. One of the bullets hit Chuuya's shoulder while in the air. However, Chuuya manipulated gravity and repelled the bullet in the opposite direction. The bullet penetrated the enemy's shoulder and he sunk into the ground.

The muzzle couldn't catch Chuuya, who sometimes flew around like a hurricane and sometimes crashed into the ground like a meteorite.

"Haahahahaa!" Chuuya shouted happily while in the air.His overwhelming speed and reflexes dominated the life of the place. Dazai could only forget to breathe and watch over the battlefield dominance like a storm.

Eventually, there was one enemy left. While blood shed from his shoulders, he glared at Chuuya through bloody eyes. The enemy's rifle shot at him blindly with a reserve magazine until the trigger's clicking resonated with a light sound.

"Tell me the purpose of your attack." Chuuya slowly approached him in the forest. He took his time, like a king. "What do you know about Arahabaki? Why did you aim for the mafia's executive?"

"Damn... A brat like you...!"The last enemy abandoned his rifle and pulled out his spare handgun.

“Give it up." Chuuya doesn't change his facial expression. "Your gun doesn't work. In any case, that injury is pretty severe. It's dangerous for you to shoot."

"Die...!"

The gun was fired.Chuuya tried to manipulate the gravity of the bullet― but couldn't. There was no need to. Due to his injury, the bullet's aim was off and passed by the side of Chuuya's head.The bullet hit a big tree behind them and was repelled by the hard bark. A bullet that flew at a speed of 1,000 km/h retained its speed even after rebounding. The bullet changed from a spiral rotation to an irregular rotation and returned to the owner as a dangerous bomb.

The crushed bullet pierced the man's neck.

"Ka-..."The man fell on his back, unable to give a cry of surprise.

A few seconds later, blood erupted.An unfortunate accident― but quite common on the battlefield.Chuuya, who witnessed the whole thing, frowned and made a small click of his tongue.

"...Tch. I told you so." Then he turned away from the man and started walking. "The enemy has been disposed of. Let's hurry up and go."

Dazai didn't reply. He approached the fallen man unsteadily and crouched next to his face.

"How unfortunate for you. Does it hurt?" Dazai's expression was flat. However, in the depths of his eyes, the brightness of a boy who longed for a firefighter has when he sees a firefighter flickered slightly.

"...Ka..."

"A bullet is stuck in your throat. Even if we treat it now, there's no saving you. Still, it'll take about five minutes to die. You shouldn't have used the gun." Dazai shook his head slightly. "That's five minutes of hellish suffering. I wouldn't be able to stand it. What do you want to do? Would you like this gun to end your suffering?"

The man was gasping in pain. He tried to speak, but his voice couldn't handle it."I work for the mafia. In other words, your enemy. But, I got to see the preciousness of your death, and I want to thank you. Now, if you want to say yes, you should do it before you can't talk."

The light of despair was set in the man's eyes."...Shoot..me.... Please..."

"Sure thing."Dazai stood up and pulled the trigger.The bullet hit his head, so the man's body became nothing more than a simple object.

"Hahahaha!"Dazai shot the gun even more. Bullets hit one after the other. The man's corpse jumped."Hahaha! What a luxury! Hahahaha!"

"Stop it, idiot."Chuuya grabbed the gun from the side and stopped it.Dazai saw the handgun that he grabbed, saw the corpse under his feet, and then looked at Chuuya. He had a mystified face.

"He's already dead. Don't shoot dead bodies in vain."

Dazai looked at him blankly. He was more like a boy than anybody had ever seen, an expression appropriate for a child.Then, Dazai sniffed and gave a dull smile. 

"You're right. You're absolutely right. That would be the normal way to think."

He threw the pistol away like it was dirty and walked as if he had lost interest in both Chuuya and the corpse.His expression returned to his usual Dazai thing. 

It was a gray expression that wasn't interested in any concept.

"Haha. Ordinary? Hahaha." 

Dazai's dry laughter was sucked in between the trees and disappeared.

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

“How has your work been today, Master of the Port Mafia?” 

Oda looked up from his report from the grand master to look at his friend in dismay. While true that Oda is the only master, his friend is the perfect master candidate. A person that can easily step into the battlefield and command his Servant while still holding a very casual relationship. Something akin to a strategist. 

“I’m good,” Oda strolled towards him, Higuchi right now not with him luckily. “I had just investigated the recent experiment on another child.” 

“Oh? Where is he now?” Ango asked, interested in the news. Since he got wind of children gaining a Spirit Origin he had been contemplating to go with him, just to see how dangerous these experiments are. Well, he trusts his friend to save them but after he used his ability it was almost hard to imagine the horrors they must have faced. The vivid images of children getting slaughtered left and right, their souls being ripped out and altered into that matching of a deity or historical nursery rhyme that fitted them. 

“I gave him to a former magus. I’m not 100% certain that he is safe. However the thought of having that child being in the same vicinity as that place,” Oda’s blue eyes held no color. “It makes me want to kill again.” 

The eyes of someone who held bloodshed more than once. One that shot the family ties many had. One that cut through the lullaby of happiness. Oda Sakunosuke holds great resentment towards the experiments. The Pseudo-Servant Project as they called it. 

“How is Natsu holding up?” Ango asked, changing the subject. “Heard she almost activated Higuchi-chan’s Noble Phantasm.” 

“Yeah. Almost. Was it not for that blast I’m sure that an earthquake would have descended upon Yokohama—no, in Japan.” 

They both know how dangerous the girls are. With Higuchi being fused with Takemikazuchi and Natsu being the catfish, neither could handle anything without each other. 

“Odasaku, if by chance things go south…” 

Oda felt Ango’s fingers lightly touch his command seals. 

“....then I would gladly aid you if you just give a call.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m a Higuchi stan so I will love her with all my heart


	3. Blue Bracelet’s Of Trust or Manipulation?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Higuchi-chan, make sure those two don’t follow us again.” 
> 
> “Understood.” 
> 
> Chuuya blinked. “Was she..?” 
> 
> Dazai turned to him, a smile on his face. “She was worried for you. Don’t think anything bad off it.”

Sakaguchi Ango is—was—a former head of the Sakaguchi house manner. The Sakaguchi’s were known for their potential in Magecraft, even going so far to say that they were born for this type of thing. However because Ability users are known as a lesser being, the Sakaguchi threw away their son, wanting their other son to get better access. After all, in mage families only one child can become the top. 

The Port Mafia scouted him intended to get talented people on their side, luckily enough they did with how exceptional they are but despite that Ango was only there as support. So when his best friend one day came home with two girls who could control Magecraft and are Pseudo-Servants, he had no intentions of stopping to protect another child who had been tortured by the experiments inflicted on innocent creatures. 

Higuchi and Natsu for that reason remained in their custody until the Port Mafia could think of a way to make the two official members. In that time either Hirotsu or Ango took care of the youngest while Higuchi and Oda would look for clues, their intentions as clear as day. Both found the girl adorable and treated her as either a daughter or little sister. 

Which is why Oda brought both Higuchi and Natsu to Hirotsu for him to look after while he takes care of something’s. A very thirsty thing. 

Which included a bed. 

“Odasaku...hng..aren’t you full already?” Ango breathed, sweat going down his face. He is now on the king sized bed, hands clutching the cover tightly. On top of him is Oda Sakunosuke, an orphan of Magecraft who got adopted by the GrandMaster, with his eyes hazy and mouth slightly agape. Both of his hands are next to Ango’s head, his knee in between the man’s leg and salvia going down his chin. 

“Hmm,” Oda went down to peck the side of his mouth. “No,” he licked Ango’s lips again, letting his tongue slide in. The eighteen year old man parted his lips lazily, letting Oda’s tongue mess around with him. 

Their heated kisses aren’t really romance type, they just usually have a mana transfer anyway. Yet for some reason Ango always managed to become a bottom, no matter how much Oda needed mana it was always him to be on the bed and feeling his mana leaving him. It doesn’t help that Ango gets easily flustered and moaned too easily into their mana transfer. 

Oda continued his battle with his tongue, the sound of silk, wet tongue touching and dancing around his filled the room. Ango felt something stick out of his pants, apparently Oda also knew because he touched it. Ango moans as Oda trails down his neck, salvila trailing down their lips. Kissing being given to his Adam’s apple, head tilted to the side for better access. 

“Want me to take care of that?” Oda asked, watching how Ango is retrying to catch his breath. He sits up, lightly pushing his friend off him. 

“No, I’m good. You need to take care of your own. I’m going back to work,” Ango sighed, irritated that he once again was not providing his friend with being the top. 

A knock made them both turn, the door opened slightly after Oda told them to come in. Standing there is a young girl around seven years old, golden blonde hair in a bun with pink eyes looking at them innocently. “Um, Onii-chan, I made dinner. If you want to eat anything before we go and investigate.” 

Her voice is soft and barely audible but the two men understood one thing; they needed to quickly hide their lewdness before she was getting tainted. 

“Thank you very much, Natsu-chan!” Oda quickly walked away from the bed, falling from the bed. Ango looks unimpressed as the man tries to hide the bulge from the little girl, she is smiling at him wearing a light pink dress that Elise must have lent to her. “But Ango and I will come back when we are done giving a mana transfer.” 

Natsu blushed. “I’m sorry. Did I disturb your blood drinking time?” 

“No. It just takes some time for us to transfer,” Oda quickly reassured, happy that she only knows about the more gory version. “I will join you two later, Ango promised to transfer some mana to me.” 

Natsu blinked before looking down with a smile. “It’s okay. I let Onee-chan cook and now everything is burned, I can remake everything. So, I hope you can join us, Onii-chan.” 

Ango watched how a light glow was coming from Natsu, a very innocent smile on her face. Oda is turning to his friend who only smiled, maybe he can top Oda in something. He walked towards the girl and smiled, patting her head. “Natsu-chan, Odasaku will be there in two hours. Don’t worry, I will take good care of him.” 

Oda began to sweat as Natsu nodded, a smile on her face. “Thank you very much, Ango-nii!” And with that she turned away. 

She waved at them both, making Oda turn to Ango in a mixture of confusion and surprise. “Let’s begin by your feet if you are so into it.” 

Ango choked on his spit, turning red as Oda picked him and dragged him to the bed again. They both didn’t notice the blank look Higuchi has on her face as she covers her sister’s ears. Natsu only looked confused. 

“I’m glad I burned the stove.” 

The door is closed luckily, because Oda was not kidding with what he said. 

Ango bites his lip as Oda quickly removes the glasses-wearing ability magus’ pants, leaving only his boxers.Taking Ango’s ankle, Oda licks the ankle for a few times before going down his legs. Ango is groaning and moaning the whole time, trying so hard not to scream and make Higuchi go into their room again. 

“Oda….Saku!” Ango breathed, feeling his member poke his trousers. “Not..hnng...not now.” 

“It’s okay, I’m sure Mori-sensei wouldn’t mind me making you not sleep tonight.” 

“IT’S STILL DAY!” 

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

"Ugh, it's cold... The ventilation gets better and it's three times colder... I want to spend the rest of my life like moth larva, in the dirt and not exposed to the wind..."

On the second floor of the mansion, the executive, Randou, was shaking.The inside of the house was desolate. The wall material was peeling off due to the explosion and the cracked lights fell off the ceiling. All the items on the shelf were scattered on the floor; blue plates, moss-colored books, and paintings were decorated across the floor. 

As a bonus, the dead body of an enemy soldier garnished the floor like a decoration, and the red blood gave it a sense of unity. It was like avant garde art."What a disaster, Randou-san. Here, this is the wood that goes into the fireplace."

"Ugh... You saved me, Dazai-kun. I'm really glad that there's a fireplace in this mansion... Without it, I would have had to jump into a bonfire to quickly get warm..."

Randou, wrapped in a blanket, threw the wood handed to him by Dazai into the fireplace. The fire in the fireplace burned in the incinerator with a rumbling noise.

“Hey, bandaged freak. Where did you get the wood?"

"The pillar of the house." 

Dazai said with a cool face.Dazai and Chuuya met Randou in a rough looking reception room.Randou was a relatively old mafioso. He served the organization since the previous boss, but he was appointed to an executive after entering Mori's era. 

In the old boss's era, he was treated rather unfortunately, and for that reason took part in Mori's regime where he was treated as an equal, unlike with the old boss.

"I can guess the reason why Randou-san was attacked." Dazai said while throwing the books on the floor into the fireplace. "'Rumor expansion'. If Randou-san, who's with Mori, was killed in an explosion, people would be even more confused about the 'previous boss's anger'. In fact, I checked the GSS command vehicle before coming here, and I found a procedure to disguise this black explosion."

"A black explosion...?" Randou repeated while trembling.

“I don't know much about it, I'll look into the technical part later, but if you use flame reaction from chemicals with a sodium lamp as a light source, it seems that you can make a flame with a color close to black." Dazai said while looking at the documents he picked up. "At any rate, it was a poor cover-up tactic. In the end, after failing to dispose of Randou-san, the cover-up operation unit got the tables turned on them and were killed."

"Basically, this is what happened." Chuuya shifted his weight to his right leg and put his hand on his waist. "The GSS guys impersonated 'Arahabaki' to create an internal discord within the mafia and attacked Randou, but failed."

"That's right."

“So the mastermind of these events was the GSS's captain?"

"I think there's a high probability."

"Ugh, so cold... The GSS's current boss is a cold hearted ability user. Moreover, he is rumored to have a close relationship with the North American secret organization, 'The Guild'... If you do plan to take care of it, you have to make a lot of preparations... Dazai-kun, the fuel in the fireplace, another one..."

"Yeah, here." 

Dazai said while handing over an expensive painting. "There's no need to go after them. Our purpose is to expose the lies of the previous boss's resurrection to the public. Randou-san, there's something I want to ask."

"Brr... Sure. I can't go against the instructions of those who have the Silver Oracle... Mori-san is a benefactor that puts me in a high position..."

"That's good. Well then, tell me more about Arahabaki that you witnessed in Suribachi City. That's the only information that can lead us to the criminal for now."

"Ah... That... I remember it well."Randou buried his chin in the blanket and said, "How could I forget?"

"Randou-san?"

Randou's hands were shaking.Dazai knew immediately― the tremor in his hands was not because of the cold.

"I... survived. But, all of my subordinates... they burned. By that black flame... Dazai-kun. Your strategy is correct. Rather than take down the criminal, you stop after revealing their scheme. Keep doing that. It's what you should do. Because that thing's really god. A bundle of humans couldn't possibly realize..."

Randou's cold colored eyes were clearly terrified.Dazai had never seen Randou's face so terrified. No one had ever seen the remarkable fear that doesn't even move an eyebrow when seeing hundreds of corpses rolling down the road.

"Tell me in more detail, Randou-san." Dazai gave a slight laugh. "I'm interested."

Randou coughed once, compared the two boys with gloomy eyes, then opened his mouth.

“―That happened almost in the center of Suribachi City. Us mafia were fighting the armed boys of the Sheep. It was on that day we began to fight because two days before, a Sheep attacked a mafia member who got on board a passenger plane, and the reason they attacked an airplane was because we raided a Sheep warehouse, and the cause of that was the Sheep last month... Well, no one remembers who was the first to cause trouble. Unlike dark societal films, there is almost no clear line between good and evil in our world. I don't think there's anything else to say.Ugh... it's cold. Sorry, would it be possible to prevent the breeze from coming in by plugging the hole with the rubble? Yeah, right there. Thank you. That's it.I was on the way to the dispute. Suddenly, all of us were blown away by a black blast.

If you were to compare it to the explosion by the GSS on my house, their explosion was like a baby's sneeze. All the important men died. Because I made a subspace developed by my ability, I survived.The world that was there; by no means can it be expressed by words alone.At least, it was not in this world. Black flames, boiling earth. The houses melted in an instant, the air burned out, and the utility poles became ash faster than it could fall.If you dared to describe it―it was hell.

It was the scenery of the abyss that appeared in the picture scroll, as imagined by a writer hundreds of years ago.I was at the center of the abyss.At the center of the explosion― it was not the previous boss. It didn't even look similar. It wasn't even human.

Beast.

A black beast.A quadruped beast. It's fur was flame, along with it's thick tail. It's pair of eyes had flames as if they had sprouted from the purgatory.Its size and silhouette resembled that of a human, with it's limbs close to the ground. But everything else was beyond being human. Above all, it's presence was different. It had a body that had concentrated and condensed all the calamities and slaughter since history began. Or it can be said that the source of energy in this world where celestial bodies and galaxies have materialized was held by it.No doubt there was no ill will and no anger. There was no emotional tremor. It was just there, simply being.I looked around for something that could reasonably explain this phenomenon.

Maybe this was an enemy gifted. Thinking about it now, there was no way that one ability user could produce such a huge amount of heat, but at that time there was no other hypothesis. However, there were no ability users around. I couldn't see anything. To be precise, not even the landscape existed.Everything on the ground was shaking with a high amount of heat. Even the color of the sky was unclear. Moreover, the scenery was like a watercolor painting with splashed water. It seemed as if everything in this world had turned into a ghost. But, for some reason, I remember that the Yokohama sea was quietly crawling on the surface of the gray steel, which was the same as the sea where I looked from far away.The beast that left the sea and blew everything away saw me.It felt as if molten lead had been poured over my internal organs.The next moment, something incredible happened.

My ability― a trap in the subspace area.Whether it's fire, swords, thunder, lighting, light, or sound pressure, the space itself will never jump over it. It's the same as a right hand novel's hero cannot defeat a left hand novel's villain. The dimensions are different after all.But, the beast did it.It went beyond the laws of physics.So is the beast a god or a devil?I immediately rebuilt the subspace. But the moment of renewal was enough for him. Something I couldn't see struck me.It was a torrent of power itself. Pure energy before being converted into concrete forces such as heat, light, and lightning. Perhaps the black flame, this original energy's aftermath, uses smoke from an explosion to release that energy. I was struck by that energy. It's not a dimension that can be done in by a mere gifted

My body was already blown into the air when the subspace was rebuilt. If my defense was delayed for another second, my whole body's cells would be crushed and my body would have disappeared without a trace from this world. Therefore, you could say holding my ground against that explosion was rather fortuitous.Right before I lost consciousness, I heard a beast's roar.It was a voice that didn't contain any emotion or will.I was scared of it.It was not a voice that scares you. Neither threatening nor a threat. The voice was just there. I understood immediately. It simply exists to cause as much destruction as it can.It was scarier than any conflict.

I don't have any memories after dancing in the air and rolling on the ground. I was fortunate enough to be rescued and able to live like this. If he had the intention of killing me for a single hair, I would have died instantly.If someone says that is god, I would believe it. There was no flood of murderous intent. There was no eruption of murderous intent. No typhoon, lightning strike, or tsunami of a murderous intent. But it killed many people in an instant. That beast is like that. Such an existence is called a "God" in this country. What else would you call it?” 

―Randou's words were broken off there.Neither Dazai nor Chuuya opened their mouths immediately.

"Sorry... You guys probably wanted to prove that the previous boss's resurrection wasn't thanks to the power of Arahabaki, but was a disguise by an enemy ability user.

However, if you report the story to Mori-dono... Rather, if Mori-dono feels like the reality of the god 'Arahabaki' has become realistic, your investigation will be useless."

"No, it was a very interesting story." Dazai said with a smile. "Thanks to your story, I understand everything."

Chuuya looked at Dazai. "What?"

Dazai laughed like he was in a play and half turned his body.

"I know the trick and the real culprit. The case is solved."  
【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

"Tell me who the culprit is!"

"No way!"

Chuuya quickly approached Dazai, not waiting for the end of his reply. He unleashed a powerful lower kick.Dazai kicked the ground and avoided it. Rotating in the air, he used his momentum of the drop to swing down his weapon.

Chuuya raised both of his hands to guard against the black metal rod, even though it was as tall as an adult male. Taking advantage of Dazai's momentary stiffness when he landed, Chuuya slammed a quick fist that was as fast as the rain against him.

"You don't get it, do you!"

"No, I get it. Unlike a certain elementary school student."

Facing a series of barraging fists, Dazai had no choice but to fight. Dazai retreated, and was driven to the corner of the battlefield.

"Come on, come on! Defending won't win you the battle!"

Finally, Chuuya chose a rather bold, raised kick. It was a powerful technique that rotated him vertically on the spot and kicked his opponent into the air.

However, Dazai didn't miss the gap a few moments before he hit."Yes! Too bad!"

When Dazai quickly pressed a button, his character emitted a light. Destructive light beams spread from the brandished metal rod and hit Chuuya's character.

"No! Wait!"

Chuuya's cries were drowned out by intense electronic sounds. The swung-down metal rod didn't stop and drew countless flashes onto the screen. Attack, attack, attack, attack. Attacks continued to rain down like a storm, and Chuuya watched it with a dumbfounded look.

Eventually, Chuuya's character fell to the ground while the word 'victory' shined above Dazai's character."And that's the end. Were you unaware of your playing abilities?"

"Dammit! One more time!"

The two were in an arcade in the downtown area. There were lively electronic sounds and clatter of the customers all around. The two of them faced each other on opposite sides of the game station and engaged in a competition through a fighting game.

"We can fight one more time, but the results will be the same. Despite how it looks, my hand is dexterous." Dazai said while waving his hand. "Now... Remember our promise? 'If you lose, you must follow one order from the winner, like an obedient dog'. What should I have you do?"

"Damn... I was so sure I would win...!"

After retiring from Randou's house, their opinions were in opposition. Dazai objected to Chuuya, who insisted on finding the criminal's whereabouts immediately, that he should wait and carefully prepare to make the capture easier. During that argument, Dazai refused to say the name of the criminal he discovered. 

But solving their problems through violence and intimidation was prohibited by Mori.As a result, video games were chosen as a fair solution to make the other surrender. Then, with the stakes being the defeated person would submit to the winner, the two of them went to the downtown area.Furthermore, the two would be playing the same game with the same stakes at the same arcade hundreds of times from now on in the future― that would be reported on a separate occasion.

"Your self-confidence seems to have been bought on sale." Dazai said while slightly shaking his body.

"Your defeat is due to your strong ability. It's too strong, so you never learned to be cunning or tactful. You are still a child, just like your height shows. So you can't win. Whether it's a video game or riddles, you can't win."

"Riddles?" Chuuya glared at Dazai. "I don't remember doing any riddles, let alone losing. You probably just let the 'culprit you discovered' get away with your selfishness! I can't believe it."

"That's right." Dazai nodded. "But you don't know who the culprit is, right?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know who the culprit is?"

“Huh?"

"Do you know who the culprit is?"

"...iddle." Chuuya made a face and turned the other way. "....ember..."

"Hm? What?"

"....decided... to..."

"What? I can't hear you."

"I got it!" 

Chuuya stomped on the game and shouted angrily. "Though you're just an idiot, you perverted bastard!"

"Very nice. Then, let's have a contest to see who can catch the culprit first. If you win, we can call off the bet that we had. But if I win, you're my dog for life."

"Hmph. Do you think I'll falter if you make tough conditions?" 

Chuuya looked at Dazai through threatening eyes. 

"That's just an empty bluff, bastard. Bring it on, I'll accept this contest. You don't think I'm cunning or tactful? I can't go around showing my trump card to guys like you."

"Way to go, your statement is quite good when you stand up provocatively! I really admire you. There, there, good boy."

"Don't pat my head!"

Chuuya kicked away Dazai's hand that tried to pat his head teasingly.Meanwhile, Chuuya's hands were still in his jacket pockets.

"That reminds me," Dazai said suddenly while watching Chuuya's kick. "I've never seen you fight with your hands. Whether it was with Higuchi-san or GSS, you attack your opponents just by kicking. Your hands are always in your jacket. What's the reason? Are you worried about your nails breaking?"

"No. It's just how I fight."

"Ahh, I see. You intentionally don't use your hands." Dazai smiled knowingly. "It seems that there is a contradiction inside you, Chuuya-kun... There's a division. At first, I didn't know what would happen in a fight between two fellow ability users. During yours and Higuchi-san’s battle, you had a natural advantage, so there can also be an unknown ability that's your natural enemy. And you won't know until you actually see that ability. So, in this industry, it's common sense to always be prepared for encounters with those types of ability users. Of course, I'm an exception because of my disabling ability... What are you thinking in battle? Why are you cornering yourself with that technique?"

“I’m more concerned about the idea of wizards being real and zombie-vampires. Say, about those two girls,” Chuuya eventually changed the topic. “How have they been doing?” 

“Oh you mean the Alter Ego and Lancer? Yeah, they are fine. Many mafioso can’t stop themselves from spoiling them. Can't really say much but I do agree that they are still human, treating them as such is only a natural response compared to normal magus.” 

“What would a normal magus do then?” 

“Probably sexually use them or force them to do explicit things with them.” 

“What?!” Chuuya shouted, grabbing Dazai’s tie and pulling him only inches away from his face. “What the hell do you mean?! What will those bastards—!”

“Normal magus. We aren’t normal magus. We are stray dogs thrown away by the logic of society.” 

"...That's..." Chuuya, who was about to say something, left his mouth open and stiffened at the appearance of someone.

"Hm? What's wrong, Chuuya-kun?"

Chuuya quickly turned his back to Dazai and hid his face with the hood of his jacket.

"Don't call out my name!" Chuuya whispered in a small voice. "Don't talk to me! Quietly look at the screen until they're gone!"

"They?" Dazai looked around towards the arcade's entrance.There were three youths who were looking all around their surroundings for something; two boys and a girl around the same age as Dazai and Chuuya.They were a trio that didn't have any particular characteristics pop out about them in this downtown area. However, all of them had a blue band wrapped around their wrists.

"That blue band... A mark worn by all members of the Sheep." Dazai looked at the trio and turned back around to Chuuya. "Would it be a bad thing if you met them?"

"I don't think it'd be a good idea to meet them under these circumstances!"

"Ah... I see." Dazai thought for a minute with his thumb on his chin, but eventually a thin smile spread across his face. Then he shouted."He~y, Chuuya-kun! We need to get back to work immediately~! Wasn't that the boss's orders~?"

"You...!"

Almost at the same time as Chuuya's venomous whisper, the trio reacted to Chuuya's name. Then their faces lit up."Chuuya! We finally found you! We've been looking for you!"

Chuuya waved his hands and called out to the trio, sighing deeply. After that, he made a composed face as the three headed towards him."You guys are safe? I'm glad."

Chuuya said in an adult-like voice. There wasn't the slightest flicker of emotion on his face. His expression was like stone."What's going on here, Chuuya?" A silver-haired boy in the middle of the trio frowned. "Have you heard, Akira and Shougo were captured by the mafia!"

"Don't worry." Chuuya said in a voice devoid of emotion. "That matter is now being dealt with. The eight people who were captured will be able to come home unharmed."

"Being dealt with... Where? There were rumors inside the organization, you know. You surrendered to the mafia, then became their subcontractor and ran their errands like a dog! How hard it was for me to crush those rumors―well, that's fine. Let's go into their base and show them some pain! Like we always do!"

Dazai listened to the Sheep's conversation with a joyous expression in his eyes, watching them silently."Before that, what additional information have you guys gathered on the rumors about Arahabaki?"

"Huh? Ah..." The silver haired boy exchanged glances with his friends, as if he was confused. "Of course, the investigation is ongoing. As requested, we traced the numbers and origins of the rumors, and most of them showed up two weeks ago, like we expected. Rumors of seeing the black flame and the old mafia boss increased after that explosion two weeks ago. Before that, it seems like the rumors were only heard in circulation..."

Suddenly, Dazai interrupted. "Then, when was the oldest confirmed rumor that did some damage?"

Everyone looked to Dazai."Hey... Chuuya? Who is this guy? Does he want to join?"

"Well... Something like that." Chuuya glared at Dazai and turned his eyes back to the Sheep members. "Sorry, would you mind answering his question?"

"Sure, I guess..." Said the silver haired boy after looking between Dazai and Chuuya with a perplexed face. "The oldest, concrete rumor that did damage would probably be eight years ago. During the last years of the Great War where the huge explosion made Suribachi City. Arahabaki hadn't caused any damage before that."

"Just as I thought..." Dazai said with a satisfied face."Hey, Chuuya, is this guy really a new member of the Sheep? No matter how much you want to, you can't allow a new face to enter without consulting the rest of us. True, you are the strongest and you contribute the most to the organization. But for the time being, I'm one of the thirteen council members. You've been criticized by everyone for being tyrannical."

"I know." Chuuya interrupted him in a low voice."Is that so... In that case, it's fine. I said all I needed to say to you. Honestly, everyone relies on your power. That's for sure." 

The silver haired boy familiarly patted Chuuya's shoulders in a friendly way. "We need to make a rescue plan at once. Akira was kidnapped at the factory on the other side of the river. Actually, I was there at that time. I just barely managed to hide."

"Wait, you went to the factory?" Chuuya asked sharply. "Did you guys go to steal alcohol again? In the midst of conflict! And so close to the mafia's base... That's like asking to be abducted!"

"Don't shout." The boy frowned. "We didn't go to kill people. I was just abiding by our defense policy. Isn't this a good opportunity? The Sheep have only one counterattack rule, lay your hands on the Sheep and we hit back a hundred times harder, right?"

"Yeah... But―"

"Chuuya, aren't you always saying, 'People who have the means others don't ought to fill that responsibility'? Take responsibility as someone who has an ability, Chuuya!" The silver haired boy walked towards Chuuya and grabbed his shoulders.

"Now, let's go!"

A sudden applause sounded.

"Interesting." Dazai said. He had a smile on his face and was slowly applauding. "You guys are very interesting. The battle enthusiast, Chuuya-kun, acts just like a sheep in the eyes of wolves. It seems that standing at the top of an organization is much harder than I imagined. I'll have to pat Mori-san on the back later."

"You suicidal bastard..." Chuuya muttered. 

"You, Sheep. You can't take Chuuya-kun with you. He's in the middle of work right now. At the command of the Port Mafia."

"What?" The silver haired boy looked at Dazai with a dumbfounded face. "It's not a rumor? But, that's impossible! There must be a reason why Chuuya would give in to the mafia..."

Though when he looked at Chuuya, he seemed to realize something from his heavy expression. 

"...Seriously?" Muttering, he took his hands off Chuuya. He took a step back in disbelief.

"Chuuya. Is this a joke? Or a strategy? If you break into the mafia and destroy it on the inside..."

"No, it's true." Chuuya shook his head with a hard voice. "The mafia's leader is serious. It's not easy to outwit him. He's got surveillance over me."

"Surveillance?"

Chuuya pointed to Dazai with his gaze. After a few seconds, the Sheep understood the situation and recoiled.

"This kid..?!" The three Sheep members took a few steps back. Even though they have collided with the mafia members before, this was the first time they've met a direct subordinate.

"That's right. Nice to meet you."

"H...Hey, Chuuya! What are you just standing here for? This guy is a monitor for the Port Mafia's boss! We should quickly take him hostage and hurt him... no, kill him!"

"Oh my, I'm scared." Dazai jokingly raised both of his hands. "I give up, I have no chance of winning four on one. I'll do anything, just spare my life. I know, I'll get Mori-san to release the hostages."

"...What?"

Ignoring the three’s bewilderment, Dazai took his cell phone out of his breast pocket, punched in a number, and put it to his ear.

"Hey, Mori-san? How are you, with that hole of anxiety in your stomach? Oh, you feel it dissipating?"

Dazai happily talked into the phone. 

"The investigation is going well. We'll be done soon. Regarding that, I have a favor―can you release the Sheep hostages? Yes, that's right. Immediately. Unharmed. It's ok, your teaching practices... Sure, bye."

Dazai pressed the end call button and put the phone away. "And now, the hostages will be released."

For a moment, the Sheep looked to each other with bewildered faces."Hey, kid, do you even have the authority to release the hostages? On the phone, it looked like you were using the boss by his chin―"The silver haired boy had a dubious expression, and was surprised when his mobile device rang soon after. "Woah―It's true! I got a text saying everyone returned safely!"

The three Sheep were pleased. However, only Chuuya looked at Dazai suspiciously and not with pleasure."You... What are you playing at?"

"It's proof of my friendship." Dazai had a mysterious smile. "Now, let's go. We have work to finish."

"Work?" The silver haired boy laughed like a fool. "Chuuya doesn't do the mafia's work. You don't have any more hostages." The silver haired boy tugged on Chuuya's arm.

"Let's go, Chuuya. Everyone is waiting for you!"

However, Chuuya didn't move.

"Hey..."

"Sorry. You guys go on ahead." Chuuya shook his head."Huh? ...What are you saying?"

"I'm going to catch this criminal." Chuuya's expression was hard.

"No... So, were you threatened by the mafia?" The boy had a smile affixed to his face. "There's more important work right now. We need to take revenge against those guys for kidnapping Akira and the others. We already know the kidnapper. They're an armed group called 'The Black Lizard'. They're a formidable enemy, but I don't care if you're there. Let's go already."

The silver haired boy grabbed Chuuya's shoulder and pulled him back. However, Chuuya still didn't move. He was completely still."Hey, Chuuya. This is ridiculous."

"Arahabaki comes first." Chuuya was solid, as if he had forgotten how to move. "I made a bet with this guy on who can catch the criminal first. I can't lose."

"What? You bet?" The silver haired boy shouted. "What's up with you? Everyone's waiting on you to beat up the enemy! Your counterattack's reputation is why the Sheep can hold territory in this city―'Mess with us and you won't be forgiven', it's because of your reputation! You're at your own convenience!"

"Lay off him already, Sheep." Dazai spoke beside them. "Chuuya-kun decides how to use his ability, he doesn't need your approval. I found something more important to your talisman, so I'll be taking your blessing."

The Sheep looked at Chuuya in disbelief.

"Hey, Chuuya... Are you serious? Without your ability's power, the Sheep's counterattack won't be viable. Our territory would be crushed in a week! Or do you..."The silver haired boy took a step back."You... Don't tell me, are the rumors true? You betrayed the Sheep... and you carried out the work as a mafia member for a reward...?"

"The mafia has nothing to do with this. This is my problem."

"Really? How will you prove that?"

"It's impossible to give proof. You guys just have to believe in him." Dazai got in between them. "Is that not enough? He's your friend... Come on, let's go."

As Dazai drew a reluctant Chuuya away, the trio realized it was useless to demand anything else. Chuuya had a hard expression and didn't look back.

"Don't forget, Chuuya! Back then, you appeared out of nowhere with no relatives or identity, and the Sheep were the ones that accepted you!" The silver haired boy told Chuuya as he left. "So take responsibility, Chuuya! Accept your 'upper hand'. We never said it, you always said, 'Those with strong means have a responsibility'. Shouldn't you go over and think about it one more time?"

Chuuya didn't reply.

He silently left the Sheep without turning back

Dazai stopped and turned beside him, Chuuya glanced there too to see the silhouette of Higuchi standing there. Was she watching the whole time? 

“Higuchi-chan, make sure those two don’t follow us again.” 

“Understood.” 

Chuuya blinked. “Was she..?” 

Dazai turned to him, a smile on his face. “She was worried for you. Don’t think anything bad off it.” 

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

— was unresponsive in a bluish black darkness.

There was no top or bottom, no front or back. Even the flow of time was ambiguous. 

— didn't know who he was or why he was there.It was quiet. All around him was filled with silence, like the bottom of a well or like the sea when a storm passes overhead.

— was surrounded in the sticky, bluish black darkness. It was a heavy darkness.A transparent wall could be seen on the other side of the darkness. It surrounded him. 

— felt it was a seal. Though, he did not know such words. — did not know language. Because, — was not human. 

So, not as a clear word but a concept in its first steps, — sensed a transparent wall.Beyond that, something occasionally flickered. From right to left, then left to right.

It was a figure that traveled across the seal, but — still didn't know the concept of a 'human'. There was a figure that peered into here, a figure that quickly passed, a figure that stopped in its tracks to complain about something. But, the figures were all separated by a seal. He felt like he was looking at the end of the world through a telescope.One day—that seal was broken.His sanctuary was disrupted, the darkness was contaminated, and the outside world invaded. Someone had summoned —. 

Violent emotions resembling a storm slammed against him, and — had gasped. He thought he would drown. He wasn't interested in things like the outside world. But the outside world wouldn't allow it.A strong man's hand grabbed —.

A reddish black flame erupted from the touched part.He gave his first cry.

To be born, he must throw away everything he had. — had completely forgotten. What was his former self? 

What did he feel in the darkness? That gentle, bluish black darkness. Gentle, and lonely. It no longer protected him.His cries filled the outside world. They took on the form of a flame.And the flame of anger demolished and incinerated everything on the surface as far as the eye could see.

And — was born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that we are clear, Higuchi followed them after she checked on Ango and Odasaku during their mana session. 
> 
> Unpopular opinion; Chuuya, Dazai and Higuchi sound like a nice trio.


	4. Conquest To God part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I will not make the same mistake. This time, I will cut your head off and take out the true body of Arahabaki once you're annihilated. I've destroyed gifted who are far stronger than you. Resistance is pointless."
> 
> Randou spoke quietly. It was neither a threat nor a bluff, only a face that simply told the facts as they were. The space itself began to vibrate and concentrate on Randou. The earth, let alone the building, was waiting on a power enough for annihilation to be released.
> 
> “Come forth, Beast!”

"Please put that decoration near the ceiling on the right. Yeah, a little bit higher."

In a certain room, Dazai was preparing for a party.It was in a reception room inside a shipyard building. The shipyard, which had gone bankrupt with the owner absent, was a suitable area for illegal organizations. The dock for repairing ships was now wide, vacant land, and the three story building that stood on both sides had calmly accepted it's fate of destruction.In one room inside that building was Dazai and Randou.The room that once had high-class paintings and sinking, leather covered chairs, was now an abandoned house with water stains on the roof and colorful broken shards of glass. Dazai was in the middle of remodeling the room in the way he wanted so that no one had any complaints.

"Ahh, I can't wait. Imagine how happy Chuuya-kun is going to be when he finds out he's getting a grand party in honor of his new-found freedom." 

Dazai hummed a song with good humor and fastened a decorative drape on the wall. His right hand was wrapped in a cast, but with his left hand he tied together multi colored decorations one after the other. "Ohh, this drape is loooong. I've only just finished it. It looks like the room's walls are all full of decorations. Here, Randou-san, hold the end. With this extravagant decoration, Chuuya-kun will be moved to tears.” 

The room was decorated with fine crimson carpets, and the audio equipment played cheerful modern music that boys nowadays enjoyed. In the back of the room was a gold-plated tea wagon, and on top of it was a whole cake big enough to fill 20 people.The lighting in the room was kept dark, and the brightly colored lights that flickered every few seconds made the room look like the deep sea at twilight.

"No, Dazai-kun... If this welcomed ordinary people, it would say, 'I'll kill you', I think..." Randou said timidly while helping put up the decorations.

"Why?" Dazai said curiously while holding a long, red drape. 

"No matter how you look at it, it's 'Chuuya-kun's congratulatory party on his liberation'. Cake, drinks, good music, friendly faces. What else is there?"

"I don't know about the young people... But I, at least, don't think it's a 'trap'..." Randou looked to the floor with a face like that of a small, troubled animal.The pitfalls were perfectly hidden by the carpet. In front of the huge cake and seen from the entrance in the well-lit room. If you were prompted to go to the back, you would surely fall in the trap.

"Heh-heh... It's not just a pitfall! Chuuya-kun, after being blessed by every one of the Sheep, goes to the back and falls in here to the basement floor. Of course, at that kind of trap, Chuuya-kun won't even flinch. He would just kick the floor and come back up immediately. But unfortunately, there is no scaffold in the lower layers. Because at the bottom is a muddy sludge that will guarantee his drowning, after all. No matter how much Chuuya-kun kicks, it'll be difficult to escape. And... haha, the real guest of honor of this party is the 20 kilograms of wheat flour that falls on top of Chuuya-kun, who will be struggling in the mud. At the same time the pitfall opens, a little bit more of the powdered snow than what's considered romantic will cover his body with a thud. Chuuya-kun's gravity only works on objects he's touched directly, but since the flour is so fine, the remaining large amounts of flour can't be repelled away. Eventually, he will focus his gravity manipulation around his mouth to avoid suffocating and after finding some way to breathe, as his only resistance, he will shout curses up at me on the floor above. All while I eat elegant sweets and listen to his screams like banquet music. Ahh, just thinking about it makes me shudder!"

Dazai's cheeks were flushed with joy as he talked with a smile on his face, almost like a boy the day before Christmas.Whereas Randou just finished the drape.

"Ah... Um, that... Well, at least I know you're cut out to be a mafia tortuer..." Randou said with all his willpower, the edge of his lips twitching. 

"But, what is the plan to bring Chuuya-kun here?"

"Don't worry, I tricked some of his Sheep friends into coming here, disguising this as a real party. The preparations for that are almost complete."

"Ah, I see... As expected of Mori-dono's right hand man..."

"Mori-san often says, 'Let's deepen people's hate'." Dazai said, sticking out his chest.

"The meaning is different..." After finishing the decoration, Dazai returned to Randou while dusting his hands.

"First, the Sheep and Chuuya-kun need to break up." Dazai said while walking. "They are like a fried dish cooking in gunpowder. I don't think they're aware of it. Neither Chuuya-kun nor the Sheep are aware that their current defense system is the worst structure ever. I wonder what they'll say? Pushing the other's buttons? An unstable group? Or the 'raw meat theory'?"

"The... raw meat theory? What's that?"

"Oh, I learned it from Mori-san... Think of three young people going to eat yakiniku." Dazai said while holding his chin with his fingers. "Put the raw meat on the brazier, and take it off when it's fully cooked. That's yakiniku. However, the three youths have a hearty appetite, so they're soon almost out. Everyone wants to eat more. In other words, it's a battlefield. Here, one person shows a sharp flash. He takes the meat a little before it's fully cooked. In that case, he can eat the meat before the other two. So he does just that. As calculated, he eats as much meat as he likes, and is very satisfied. Now, the remaining two get the short end of the stick and are not in an advantageous position. There's no point in having yakiniku if you have no meat. Is there a solution? Of course there is. You take the same strategy as your opponent... that is, you eat raw meat. There's no other choice. If everyone started eating raw meat, each individual would no longer be able to overthrow it. If you hold yourself back, you won't be able to get any meat. Thus, everyone falls into a sorrowful state where they can only eat raw meat―everyone knows that fully cooked meat is better after all. This is the 'raw meat theory'. It would explain half of the world's problems."

"Oh... In other words... As a result of the pursuit of individual happiness, the group happiness is ruined... And the person who started it can no longer stop it. So that's the situation." Randou turned his head. "Is that happening to the Sheep?"

"Heh-heh, the good thing about them is that they don't realize they're eating raw meat. They're very interesting toys, the Sheep and Chuuya-kun. You can see so many things in the underworld, it's such a fun place." As he talked, Dazai gave a giggle.

"True... You could say that."Randou said, holding his hands over the lighting fixtures to keep warm. 

"Neither disputes nor violence are essential to living. If everyone said, 'Let's stop eating raw meat'... that is, declaring and obeying a ban on weapons and fighting, violence would disappear from this world. But in reality, that's not the case. Someone will always break the rules. Being violent will always bring a huge amount of profit. If that happens, other people can only eat 'raw meat' and take ownership of their violent retaliation. That is the essence of conflict in this black society."

"The veteran Randou-san is far more familiar in this field than I am." Dazai said with a slight smile.

"Well... In the previous boss's reign, I was the lowest ranking member." Randou said as he rubbed his hands together for warmth. 

"It was a lower position with no basis or economic support. The work was to fight and die at the frontlines. I survived countless disputes thanks to my ability, but mostly through luck. Mori-dono replaced the boss, and my true strength was recognized when I got the position of executive... That's why I owe a debt of gratitude to Mori-dono. Annihilate the Mafia's enemies all for that person. I will give all my efforts in this crisis caused by Arahabaki."

"As I expected." Dazai smiled. “And... Oh, right. Dazai-kun, you said you knew who was behind Arahabaki, but... Do you really know? Or was it a lie you used to tease Chuuya-kun?"

"Both." Dazai laughed. "What I said to Chuuya-kun before was to make him take the bet, but I do know who the culprit is."

"Oh... Who is it?"

“You, Randou-san."

Silence.It wasn't just quiet, it was the kind of silence that drove all sounds away.

"You disguise yourself in the old boss's clothes and spread the rumor of Arahabaki... What do you say to that?"

Randou scratched his head as he thought of Dazai's question.

"Huh...? Oh―Um, I'm sorry, but this time... I don't know what sort of reaction I should have. I have no experience being called a criminal, you see."

"That's ok, everyone has their first time." Dazai grinned. 

"Then, let's first talk about your typical criminal's response... First, Randou-san, who was named the criminal, reacts like this, 'No way, that's impossible', or, 'Very funny, Dazai-kun'. Then I'd answer like this, 'But, there's no doubt you're the culprit'. Next, the criminal tries to refute with emotion. 'Did you not just hear my story? I feel great gratitude to Mori-dono. Are you scheming up an evil plan to start a civil war within the mafia and crush it?' Is this good enough, Randou-san?"

"No... Actually, that's true, I have nothing else to add." Randou sounded at a loss. 

"You're correct, my true intentions are just as you said. So... How do you react after that?"

"I'd say this. 'Your debt is irrelevant, Randou-san. Because your goal wasn't to attack the mafia in the first place. The culprit's goal was something different.' How's that? Can you take over soon?"

"Ah... Um... It's still a little confusing..." Randou scratched his head. "I'm not good at being the criminal. I have to react seriously... I know. What's your basis? All your accusations are only guesses―"

"'―are only guesses, and have no logical basis that says I'm the mastermind'." Dazai took over the latter half of Randou's sentence. 

"That's right. I only have a good feeling, Randou-san. Now, without proof, I'm gonna have a hard time placing fault on an executive, right?"

"Well... I wonder if there is a basis. Because of your confidence..." Randou said with a troubled face. 

"What your basis is, I can't imagine..."

"If that's the case, I would like to ask you some things real quick. Sorry for acting all high and mighty." Dazai shrugged his shoulders and said, "You made a mistake. A very basic mistake. I'm sure you'll come to regret it.""And this mistake was?"

"The sea." Dazai declared while waving his index finger. "You said, 'When I witnessed the black flame of Arahabaki, only the sea in the distance was quiet and calm like a gray, steel surface'."

"Yeah... I did say that. Because it's what I saw. Why was that a mistake...?"

"Did you really not notice?"

"No... I don't know what the problem is. Tell me."

"Alright." Dazai nodded then smiled. "Your location was in the middle of Suribachi City. And Suribachi City is a basin that was hollowed out into a depressed, spherical shape due to the explosion. Meaning..."

"Ah!" Randou suddenly exclaimed. "Ah... I see."

“Yup." Dazai nodded. 

"There's no way you can see the sea. If you are in the middle of a 2 km pit, no matter how hard you tried, you wouldn't be able to see it. ―Now, it's easier if you realized that. Why did you say you could see the sea? Your other testimonies were perfect, and there weren't any inconsistencies with the rumors. The depiction of Arahabaki had a real persuasive power, I thought you were telling the truth. I think you did actually see the ocean, so I made a slight mistake. Though, it was from a long time ago when you could see the sea from Suribachi City... before the explosion eight years ago. In other words, Randou-san, you witnessed it? The disaster that created Suribachi City. The black explosion that gave birth to the rumors of Arahabaki himself."

Randou did not reply.Dazai stared at Randou silently for a moment, then gave a little huff.

"The beloved rumors of the Sheep said the oldest rumor of Arahabaki was the explosion that created Suribachi City. That explosion was probably the starting point when the rumors of an ancient god, Arahabaki, began to be spread. There could have been other people watching from a distance. However, Randou-san, you witnessed it up close. Close enough where an ordinary person would have evaporated. As a result of trying to make that memory as accurate as possible, the impurity of the sea was mixed in. And from your inaccurate testimony, or rather your opinion, your motive showed itself."

Randou, who was listening quietly, sighed as if he had given up.

“You and Chuuya-kun had a bet." Randou said. "In that case, you won. Since you found the culprit first."

“Thank you, Randou-san." Dazai smiled. "With this, I can use him as my dog for life―"

Something broke through the wall and jumped in the room. Randou’s body was struck from the side and flew to the other side of the room.

"―ound you!" There was a violent shout. "I win the bet with this scheming bastard! You're the culprit!" 

Randou broke through the wall of the building and flew outside the room, tumbling along on the ground. On top of that, a small figure leaned forward.

Dazai couldn't believe his eyes. "...Wow."

"Sorry, but this is the end of the line for you." Naturally, Chuuya had a proud smile. "There's no escaping my eye. I predicted a long time ago you were lying about―Woah, the sly bastard! What are you doing here?!"

"That's my line, Chibi-san." Dazai said with a bored face. "Just so you know, I beat you to the prosecution. I was in the middle of explaining his crime."

"Huh? In the middle of? So you're not done yet? Then it's my win. I beat the culprit, in other words, my victory. The guy who is strong wins. That's the truth of this world."

"It's guys like you that make the world full of raw meat." Dazai said, a look of disgust on his face. "Did you come to that conclusion from Randou-san's inconsistency with the sea?"

"The sea?" Chuuya stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"Hm? Then how did you find out Randou-san was the culprit?"

"Right when I heard his story. So far, the testimonies had only talked about seeing the old man. However, he said he saw the body of Arahabaki. That's impossible, so I knew it was a lie." Randou, who had been kicked by Chuuya and rolled on the ground, opened his mouth with a groan.

"Then you... thought I was the culprit because there's no such thing as a god?"

"Haha, you're wrong. It's the opposite. There actually is a god." Chuuya affirmed. "I know it. And there's no way you would have witnessed him in Suribachi City."

When he heard that line, Randou's presence changed. His shivering from the cold stopped.

"Were you aware...that Arahabaki really existed?" Randou said as if he was being squeezed.

"Oh... You saw it, then? Eight years ago. If you didn't, you wouldn't have been able to give such an accurate testimony on what he looks like."

"Oh, I saw him..." Randou said, standing up. 

"But I didn't just see him. He gave me an explosion up close. It was a complete surprise attack... I was seriously injured and about to die, walking between the boundary of life and death. I lost my memories due to the shock and flames, wandering through the city of Yokohama. I caught the previous boss's eyes, stayed overnight in his organization, then joined the mafia..." Randou looked at Chuuya with a heated gaze.

“Chuuya-kun, you must know―Where is Arahabaki right now?"

Chuuya didn't answer, just looked at Randou through a sharp gaze."Tell me."

"That's what I'm curious about, Randou-san." 

Dazai laughed slightly as he looked at Randou. 

"After all, you made this big deal about him just to know. Only the person who knows the truth of Arahabaki can see through his lie. The reason Arahabaki was portrayed accurately was because you used yourself as a huge bait to catch the person who knew the truth, right?"

Chuuya looked between the two for a while, and eventually shook his head.

"Geez... Why do you even want to meet that guy?" Chuuya said. "He has no mind or personality, he just exists. What will you do when you meet him? Pay your respects? He's a powerful deity, a simple lump of power. The same as a typhoon or earthquake. It's not much different from paying respects to fuel at a power plant."

"Personality is not a problem. A mind and thinking are not a problem." Randou said in a solemn tone. 

"A great destruction. The burning earth, the dyed sky, the quivering atmosphere, a grotesque being. To reach that understanding, the state of nirvana. That power is enough for me. Tell me, Chuuya-kun. Existence beyond human knowledge―Where is the being that burned me?"

Chuuya didn't answer immediately. He turned his palm over, then turned it back around, gaining himself some troubled time. However, before long he sighed as if he had given up. "Ok. I'll tell you what I know." 

Chuuya's eyes were clear. They were so clear that they could take in everything that they saw. "Arahabaki―" He took a breath, then exhaled.

And said.

"―is me."

【•=—====(✾)====—=•】

Dazai took a step back."What... do you mean?"

Chuuya's expression was calm. His face suggested nothing, concealing his true goal. It was a face that only stated the facts.

"It's as I thought." Randou slowly nodded. "I thought he was there, vaguely."

"I only have memories starting from the middle of my life." Chuuya continued with a quiet voice. "It's not as if I temporarily lost my memories like you did. Only on that day eight years ago did my life come into existence. Before that, it was darkness. I floated in a blue-black darkness, sealed in an institution somewhere. Arahabaki is not a god. He has no power to resurrect the dead. I don't know why this personality of mine exists. All I know is someone's hand broke the seal and pulled me out. —That hand, was it you, Randou?"

A bluish black darkness.A heavy and quiet darkness, surrounded by transparent walls.And the strong hand of someone who broke the seal."Answer me." Chuuya said. "Where did you find me? Why did you take me out? And—how did you get his complete body to manifest? I followed this incident to find that out. I finally understand. Now, tell me everything you know." 

There was no reply. Randou had his face down, his hidden expression trembling. But it wasn't trembling from the cold—he was laughing."Of course, of course. Even if I were to refuse... You have the right to know." Randou said in a low voice. "But it's faster to show you rather than explain through words. This is what I did to you eight years ago."

The surrounding scenery began to change. The area around them wasn't the former shipyard anymore, but something completely different."Randou-san's subspace ability...?" Dazai looked around their surroundings. "But... a subspace transfer of this large of a scale shouldn't be possible, it's only been reported once..."

The subspace ability was expanding wide enough to cover the entire shipyard. The subspace, higher than the roof, began to flicker a deep, shining crimson.

"As you know... my subspace ability is a completely different world than a normal isolated space." Randou said. "You can't enter unless you've been invited in."

"Unbelievable." Dazai looked around. "So much power, just above the level of executives. An executive rank, no, even more... Such an extraordinary ability, how did you hide it until now? No one in the organization knows about this."

"I wasn't hiding it. I just remembered it recently. Along with... my true name." Randou took a step forward. Even in the crimson space, his bizarre presence was shown."True name? You're Randou-san."

"My name is not Randou." The space around Randou shook, and a black flame appeared. It blazed like petals around Randou without a sound. "The name Randou was given to me by a friend who saw the spelling on my belongings... And when I remembered my true name, I came to a decision. This plot. To defeat a fraudulent god using the devil. All of this, Chuuya-kun... Was to find and kill you."

Suddenly, the center of the subspace popped. The high density atmosphere descended down on them like a shock wave. However—it wasn't exactly an atmospheric wave. The explosion of the space itself, along with the creation of the wave, swallowed Chuuya up like a surging sea.

"Gah?!"

The spatial wave struck Chuuya violently, and blew his body away. He flew horizontally and broke through a rusty iron pole in the shipyard, then flew against the concrete wall.

“Ga....hah..." Chuuya, who fell to the ground, could not even stand up as he spit up a large amount of blood.

"Hmm... Did you die already? Even though it's far from the complete Arahabaki, your body is said to be a resilient one."

"Hey..." Dazai looked at Chuuya, dumbfounded. "Why didn't you defend yourself with your gravity?"

"He couldn't. In this space, whenever I hit him with my shock wave, if it defies the physical laws of nature he can't defend himself." Randou said. "This subspace is my private kingdom. Therefore, my ability can only exist inside this interior.

Like this.

"There was the sound of wind blowing."

“Damn... This guy is crazy..." Chuuya put his hand on the ground and wiped the blood off of his lips. "He's come out."

A distorted, crimson haze emerged from the other side of the subspace, and a figure appeared.

"There... There is a nostalgic face. Hey, brat... Are you in good health? Have you been bullied by the doctor?"

It was the old boss floating in the air, wearing a traditional, black robe."Hey there." Dazai smiled stiffly. "It's been a while. How's your back pain? Your complexion is looking nice. Wasn't it a good thing you died? Boss—no, previous boss."

The old boss's limbs were skinny and, due to old age, his eye sockets were caving in. His blood vessels were visible on his cheeks and his eyes blazed, carrying only the brutality of the past.The tyrant of the night, Yokohama's evil. His will for destruction was beyond human limits, and was even expressed as a curse. The personification of the Port Mafia's evil."The previous boss should have died. What have you done, Randou-san?"

"He is... my ability." Randou said, stretching his back. "My ability is to bring corpses into my subspaces, and make them ability users. I dug up the previous boss's grave. Although, only one corpse at a time can be brought to life and used as my ability. In short... The previous boss was brought to life to use as my ability."

Both Dazai and Chuuya were speechless. They both knew many ability users, but neither of them knew an ability as bizarre as this.The ability to humanize."This goes above common sense." Dazai forced himself to say. "Randou-san, who are you?"

"I used to be a European Intelligence agent who was selected to bring back information on enemy nations." Randou said with his head down. "And eight years ago, I infiltrated this country for a mission. The purpose of the mission was to research a high energy life form located in this country, and take it back with me."

"And that is... Arahabaki?" Dazai said with a grim expression. "Even so... A European Intelligence agent? A 'transcendent' class of only a few dozen gifted with the highest rank in the world? Randou-san, you can't be serious."

"Let me introduce myself again." Randou bowed and put a nonexistent hat in front of his chest. "My name is Rimbaud. Arthur Rimbaud. My ability's name is Illumination. My objective is to capture you as a gifted, Chuuya-kun, and kill you."

There was a rush of explosions.Chuuya jumped into the air to avoid the spatial wave of solid, red wall. He landed sideways on the building wall. He continued to avoid the spatial waves pursuing him, running alongside the wall.

"Tch."

One after another, the wall where Chuuya had been standing was pulverized into paperware. It was a powerful attack that could break even an iron pole. Once again Chuuya received a direct hit, and tried to stand back up."No matter how much you try and escape, you can't run from the space itself."

Shockwaves hit and flew off the walls. Even in the case of Chuuya, who can control his own gravity, his mobility in the air is drastically lower than when he is on the ground. He couldn't escape.Chuuya laughed in mid-air."Haha! Is cornering me the best you can do?"Chuuya turned around—kicking the empty air while avoiding the shockwaves.

"What—" What Chuuya's shoe sole kicked was only a tiny fragment from the building. He kicked a fragment of the wall in midair that was only the size of his pinky, while at the same time maximizing the fragments gravity and minimizing his own. He reversed his mass ratio and quickly turned in the air without a foothold, like a flying squirrel who kicked and jumped off a giant boulder.Spatial waves continued to attack Chuuya in the air. 

However, Chuuya continuously kicked debris in the air, avoiding the shockwaves one after the other."What a wonderful fighting ability... But if you only run away, you'll eventually be cornered, boy."

Chuuya avoided the next attack of spatial waves by heading down. As long as he was in the subspace created by Randou, there was no way to avoid his spatial attacks. Mass could not be held by the space waves themselves, so it could not be countered by gravity. It was surely an ability that was Chuuya's natural enemy.

But. 

"Haven't you forgotten something?"

A shock wave rushed to Chuuya—but just before it hit, it vanished like mist.Chuuya had raised the shield for protection."Hey, could you not pull on my clothes? It's making my neck hurt!"Said the shield."Dazai-kun... huh?"

"He nullifies abilities." Chuuya said as he held Dazai. "Even though you can expand the subspace to not touch him, attacks won't be able to get through. And you're a European Intelligence Agent! You can't break through this guy's nullification."

"Hm... That's right. To me, Dazai's existence is a nuisance... The ultimate ability user whose existence is the only one of his kind. However—"

Randou raised his hand. "Chuuya-kun! Push me back as much as you can!" At about the same time that Dazai turned to shout at Chuuya, a flash of silver came running towards them.The space was severed.The flash of silver cut through where Dazai's neck had been just a moment ago. The tip of the scythe scratched a section of Dazai's clothes, skin, and muscles, blood spraying through them.

“Agh..." Dazai groaned.Chuuya, who had pushed Dazai down and avoided the attack, stared at him in surprise.

"Impossible!" Chuuya shouted. "It shouldn't have hurt him."The true form of the silver flash that cut Dazai was a long scythe as tall as a human being. The old man holding the handle of the scythe gave a muffled laugh.

"Cruel... Truly heartless. The day has come where the kid will be beheaded by this hand." The old boss said with a hoarse voice. "But before that, I'd like to talk about my memories... You're an enemy to me even in this body."

"Boss. You're no longer a human..." Randou told him gravely. "I used a formula to recreate your memories and personality from when you were alive to insert into my ability... You are simply my ability. And your mission is... to take Chuuya-kun's corpse while stopping Dazai-kun. With that scythe."

"Ok, I understand. This soul is a piece of torn paper clinging to your ability. This body is an automatic doll with no interior or self consciousness... But, it's an incredible feeling." The old boss raised the scythe. A black cloth emerged from thin air and wrapped around him... like an old, western grim reaper.

"I give up." Dazai said in pain, holding the wound right beside his chest. "That scythe is real. It's something he gave to him. Meaning—"

"You'll die if you're stabbed." Chuuya glanced at Dazai. Dazai's wounds were deep. All across the center of his chest and his upper arm was cut up. The clothes around his wound have already been stained red with blood. If not treated quickly, it was a life threatening wound.

"Tch... Seriously." Chuuya frowned. "I'm cornered over here, and he's in danger." Spatial waves attacked Chuuya that he couldn't defend against because of the lack of mass.The blade of the scythe couldn't be negated by Dazai because it was not an ability. Dazai and Chuuya were completely suppressed because of one type of ability.

"Dazai-kun. I had no intention to kill you. It really hurts my heart to kill a boy." Randou said in a gloomy voice. "But if Mori finds out what you know, he will send assassins after me. I'll have to kill them. I want to avoid... former friends. Taking your life is only an expense, there won't be a payment. I'm sorry, but please die with Chuuya-kun."

Randou said he felt sorry. In his eyes was a darkness that was common in the mafia—a cloudy darkness that only considers human life in numbers.The ability user once called Randou took a step forward. His body was covered in a black flame.The old boss rose high in the air, his silver scythe shining with death.

"Ah... This is impossible." Dazai said in a flat voice. "Let's give up and die."

"Huh?" Dazai suddenly sat on the ground. Chuuya watched him in surprise. 

Dazai had a very ordinary expression on his face. His face said he had nothing to hide; he had said what he was truly thinking."What the hell? Are you sleep-talking?"

"No, this is impossible. He's an ability-using European Intelligence agent, right? There's no way we can win."

"You..."

Before he was finished speaking, a sideways shockwave hit Chuuya.He wasn't in time to avoid it by jumping, his martial arts stance leaving him exposed to the shockwave. Chuuya flew horizontally as if hit by a huge iron ball, then tumbled on the ground. He crashed into the rubble of the smashed wall.

"It's just as Dazai-kun said." Randou said, his hand still raised from generating the spatial wave. "Chuuya-kun, you should give up. I am fully aware of your ability traits. If you face me, you'll only suffer.” 

"Dammit..." Chuuya grimaced, buried under the rubble of the wall. Drops of blood fell from the edge of his lips.

"My mission will not be achieved unless you are a corpse." Randou said in what seemed like an apologetic voice. "Eight years ago... I tried to escape by taking you away, and I made a mistake. I became surrounded by enemies. The corpse I was using at that time wasn't able to break through the siege. So I thought—If I took you, the god among gods, 'Arahabaki', I would have the stronger ability. I beat and captured you, but... something unexpected happened. A safety device was brought in. In other words, you, Chuuya-kun. You, a human personality, were like a talisman, engraved on Arahabaki to prevent him from running wild. When I tried to take him in, the safety device came off, and the complete form of Arahabaki began to manifest. —The rest is as I said in my estate. The complete god had manifested, and blew everything away."Randou took a step. The outside of his body flickered red, as if it had been scorched.

"I will not make the same mistake. This time, I will cut your head off and take out the true body of Arahabaki once you're annihilated. I've destroyed gifted who are far stronger than you. Resistance is pointless."

Randou spoke quietly. It was neither a threat nor a bluff, only a face that simply told the facts as they were. The space itself began to vibrate and concentrate on Randou. The earth, let alone the building, was waiting on a power enough for annihilation to be released.

“Come forth, Beast!”


End file.
